A Elder World Eater Series
by A.D. Aldous Dragon
Summary: He was evil, but now he has to be good. He was divine, but now he has to be mortal. Why he was thrown into this role, he could not understand. He was an enemy, a tyrant, the devourer of worlds, the bringer of the end. And now, he has to save the world and become the one thing he never thought he was: a hero. AU, Crossover.
1. Alduin 1

_There's never two of anything._

"And so a sentence must be passed. For your crimes and your humiliation of the gods, my son, you will be banished to the beyond, powerless and stripped of your Thu'um." At the order of this powerful resounding voice, the stage of judgement that the black-scaled dragon stood on begun to tremble erratically. His tattered burned wings, riddled with mortal arrows, shivering in fear, the one being judged, a black scaled dragon, watched as the ground he was standing on began to disappear bit by bit.

Eventually he found himself standing on a nothing more than a piece of land no larger than his body and its foundation narrowed further down, ending in an extremely thin tip precariously balancing below on a spike. He desperately tried to curl up his massive body in a desperate attempt to stay on the piece of land. Blood from his multiple wounds flowed down in streams and fell over the edge, descending into what looked like a bottomless pit, filled with murderous black. For a moment, the dragon looked over the edge and he witnessed the dark pit slowly rising towards him and realised that in reality, the land he was standing on was beginning to descend into the pit, intending to bring him down as well. To escape that fate, the dragon begun to beat his wings to fly, only to be stopped by excrutiating bolts of plasma just wrecking through his nerves.

"ARGGHHHHH!" With incredible torturous pain, the dragon felt his wings began to burn away flake by flake. His night-black eyes widened in shock when his whole body followed suit, much like his dragon comrades when they are destroyed by the Dragonborn. However, unlike them, his body was not truly disintegrating into fleshless bones. It was reforming itself. In the midst of the panic-induced confusion, the black dragon stumbled to the edge and with a horrified roar, he fell into the darkness.

And begun his eternal descent.

At the way the fall was going, it felt like he was to fall for an eternity or two. His body spinning wildly and his voice screaming in its deep bass, the dense murk around him passed by in wispy shrieking globes, as the air smacked against his glowing weak skin. His increasingly smaller claws reaching out anywhere they could reach, the desperate dragon tried to find something to grab onto. There was nothing. Nothing in this infernal pit of screaming shadows.

As he plummeted down, he realized that he was now feeling less heavier. Glancing at his body, he immediately realized, with much appal, that it was beginning to shrink. He could even hear the sickening cracks of moving bones as his dragon form changed shape. "No….no…..no...NO!" The pain now reaching numbing levels, the transforming dragon gasped for air as he felt his strength ebbing away. His wings flapped in a second desperate try to take flight but soon they too were swallowed in the transforming glow. Even his voice, as it cried in failing defiance, was losing its draconic deepness, becoming more high-pitched.

This is it. He had ventured forth to bring matters into his own hands. And now look what he gets in return. Closing his eyes, the once-a-dragon ended his useless attempts to fly and allowed his transforming body to go limp. "Damn it…" He lamented in sad anger. "Damn it! DAMN ITTTTT!"

As he kept on cursing and lamenting on his failure, the endless fall through the midnight air continued on and on. And ended.

"OOOOFFFFFFF!" As his body finally hit ground for the first time in what had felt like a billion years or so, the wind was knocked out of him by the massive impact. His muscles aching like crap and his heart beating as if it was on steroids, he struggled to get up in the crater that his meteor of a falling body had created in the sand. Said sand was also in the air, blurring his vision in a stinging mist of airborne grains. Trying to get out, he tried to flap his wings. "What?" Instead of the familiar draft of gales and the feel of flight, he felt the unusual wild movement of stubs - arms. And when he tried to get to his feet, he felt unable to support himself from his usual bent-knee position. And when he tried to get into his main four-legged position, his spine refuse to comply and he was forced to straighten his back. In fact, his legs had now become longer in proportion with his body. What has happened to him?

As he looked at his hands, the usual small black palm with large fingers that had skin between them for flight were now replaced by pale palms with simple stubby fingers, much smaller compared to his original hands. And his feet, instead of the scaley sharp claws that has assisted him time and again in battle, were ugly mammal feet, with atrocious nails that had replaced his talons that had scooped up a warrior many a times. He found himself having a pale smooth chest that had none of his black mighty scales, just like the rest of his body.

As he flexed his new fingers, a motion unusual to him, realization came and disbelief and agony washed over him.

He was human.

As his mind went over everything that had happened, disbelief turned into anger and agony brought forth rage. "DAMN YOU, DOVAHKIN!" He roared towards the sky and beyond but for once, they didn't respond to him. His shout, his Thu'um, was gone too.

"Shit!" His new smallish legs gave way and he fell onto the ground, tears for the first time forming in his eyes, falling down his now awkward and unnaturally smooth face. As they trailed over a scar of battle on his left chin, he felt a sting of pain and once again was devastated by this new vulnerability. There were no scales, shouts, powers, strength, nothing to protect himself with.

Had he continued on like this, he could have drowned in a sea of self-pity. However, just as he was on the berge of breaking down, the ex-dragon remembered who he is.

Alduin, first-born of Akatosh. Skyrim God of Time. Nordic God of Destruction. Black Leader of the Dragons. World Eater.

Bearing all those names on his back, Alduin realised that someone like him should not give up so easily. To give up now was to reject his god status and all those names. Instead, he must stand back up onto his own unfortunately two feet and get back. So he can't. Just. Give. Up.

At this fervent mental reminder, he reprimanded himself for nearly lying down to whine. Getting up slowly, he began to wipe away the tears, a task much easier with his new ungraceful arms. "I swear!" He shouted at the sky again. "I will get back up there, Dad! Even if I had to claw my way up!"

Filled with this new determination, the black dragon of Time, known as Alduin, looked to the distance. A large city was nearby. "Whiterun? Solitude? Riften?" Alduin asked himself as he began to trudge his way expectantly to the city. But as he got closer, he realized almost immediately that he wasn't even in Skyrim, nor was he in Tamriel.

Nor was he in Nirn.

It was a city, no doubt about it. But one he had never known before. It was a city that followed a cone pattern, with its most important building at the highest point. A long flight of stairs led up to it and Alduin looked more closely at the top-most building. It was huge, far bigger than any stronghold that he has seen before. Most distinctive of all, the front of that building was shaped in a large skull. The skull was flanked by two others and two giant lit candle that seemed to have been there for generations, yet remaining completely unburned by the orange flames that stood timelessly on their tips.

Right behind these skulls was a castle like structure, which was for some reason perfectly symmetrical. "What in Chaos…..?" Alduin looked up to the sky, which is bluer than any sky he has ever seen in Skyrim. Even the sun is different. Unlike the normal fiery fireball he knew, the sun had a distinct star-shape and was fitted with eyes and a mouth that seemed to be mocking him. "Go away!" He shouted at it but to no avail. His Thu'um was gone. That was a fact.

"You got to be kidding me…" Alduin sighed as he began to sweat. The temperature here was much warmer than in Skyrim, where there were mountains of ice and snow. Here, he was in a vast desert.

As he neared the city, he saw a skeleton nearby. "Mind if I take that?" Alduin looted the skeleton of its belongings, desperately needing some clothes to cover his naked body. Wearing the clothes, a white shirt in a black trench coat and a matching jeans, Alduin felt the fabric scratch against his new sensitive mortal skin. "Damn human senses…" He glanced towards the now bare skeleton and found an unusual weapon inside its hands.

Whatever the thing was, it had the shape of the English letter L and at the right angle it had a small extension within a small ring, just nice that his finger can rest on it. He looked over it and noticed a little hole at the end of the long-part of the L. In fact, it was extremely similar to what the particular mortals known as the Dawnguard refer to as a crossbow. considerably smaller and it didn't have the usual string-and-bow attachment to it. Furthermore, instead of the usual hardwood most crossbows were made of, this one, crossbow or not, was entirely made out of metal. He grabbed the top of the weapon and he could pull it back. "Mortals these days come up with pathetic-looking weapons….." He groaned as he put it in a unusual-shaped pouch that came with the clothes. The pouch surprisingly had holes and its inner shape was identical to the weapon. Little did he know what he had was a handgun and its holster.

"Now that looks interesting…." His eyes noticed a glowing bloody red orb that floated just above the skeleton. It had a moving flame-like aura that flowed somewhat like a seaweed. "What are you?" Alduin murmured to the orb as he bent down to take it. Grabbing the fist-sized sphere, Alduin admired the orb's unusual aura for a few short moments before stuffing it into his pocket. Realizing he was taking too much time under the laughing desert sun, Alduin hurried on as he continued towards the city.

After what had seemed to be a very long trek through a merciless desert, Alduin finally found himself at what seems to be a long road that was supported by large concrete archs as the road surprisingly rose up from the ground like a bridge and led to the city's main entrance, which was also decorated by menacing skulls. Taking his steps up what he could not identify as a highway, Alduin noted the unusual flatness of the black-coloured rock -tar- beneath his feet, as well as the weird white stripes that lined the road -street signs. Where the hell is he?

It did not help his confusion when a sudden loud blare sounded behind him and Alduin turned around only to quickly dodge to the right and out of the way of a metallic beast. It was the most artificial thing he had ever seen, running on one pair of rimmed wheels that were attached beneath a large metallic frame that pulled along a massive container, which in turn had three pairs of similar wheels. In truth, when he first saw the wheels, the first thing he thought was Nirn's horse-carriages, but there was no way horse-carriages were made out of pure-metal, were at least 4 metres high, had a giant metal face with a wide glass forehead and small glass eyes and finally were not even using horses in the first place. What in Nirn is that thing? Of course, what Alduin saw was what most of us could be able to identify as a container truck.

"Don't stand in the middle of the road!" Alduin's onyx black eyes widened even further, at the sudden appearance of a mortal human popping out from one of the windows at the side of that behemoth. What was even stranger was when the human suddenly showed his middle finger to him as the truck drove off ahead to the city entrance. Somehow, that rude mortal had probably meant to insult him even more, but Alduin simply could not understand how showing off one's middle finger meant an insult. Most probably, that man was just simply a coward to show such a meaningless gesture. If that man wanted a fight, he should have just get off that clumsy thing of his and come at him. Instead, like every other human, that ruffian was too timid to brawl. Shaking his head with a mocking chuckle at mortal weakness, Alduin decided to ignore the coward's warning and kept on walking in the middle of the road.

It did not take long for Alduin to enter the city as he simply waltzed past the entrance checkpoint in the shadows cast by the inside of the gargantuan skull that was now over his head, posing as a roof over the checkpoints. In a major stroke of luck that Alduin was not aware of, his clothes blended seamlessly into the shadows like as if they belonged in there. As a result, the young man was nigh invisible within the darkness and hence the officers that manned the station, who worked tirelessly between checking passports to scanning vehicles, completely missed the black-clothed boy that brashly bypassed the automatic barrier. By the time any of them thought he saw something, Alduin had long entered into the entrance square that then branched into many other directions into a labyrinthine mess of paths that would comb through every bend of the city. Thankfully though, the path just straight ahead of him and leading directly to the city's centre, already in view, led straight towards a wide flight of many stairs that led up towards the building at the top, his main destination. Grudgingly weaving his way through the throngs of people passing through the area. In his single-mindedness, Alduin paid very little to the Victorian-styled buildings, neither did he bother to check why humans around him seems to be having an unusual fashion sense. Instead, he simply focused entirely on the path ahead and mindlessly began to follow it.

But as he walked and walked, Alduin begin to feel something strange. It was poking in the back of his mind ever since he had entered the city and as he got deeper, the unusual sensation intensified. It was as if he was supposed to be expecting something from human cities. And that something was missing from this particular city. Something he had thought was typical of human cities. There was no stench.

In Skyrim, when he visited the cities, each would be filled to the brim with the stench of conflict, betrayal, destruction and ignorance. It was part of the ridiculous human nature to always bury themselves into such things and refuse most stubbornly to pull themselves out. It made Alduin mad to ever get close to a single human hold. But here...here was different. Indeed these are most definitely humans, with their always clunky body shapes and ungainly posture. Yet as these mortals walked by to and fro, their faces were unusually fresh, free of the dirt that mired the faces of those at Nirn, and the sword-wielding glares of hostility and conflict seem almost non-existent here. Some even had smiles that might never end and others were laughing as they chatted away with what most incredibly seemed to be their friends.

"Impossible…." Alduin muttered under his held breath. Humans, mortals, are actually not fighting each other? While of course, humans don't usually fight each other outright in public unless there is war, but there were hints that this was not to the case. Instead, it seemed more like the mortals seem to have found a state of cooperation and cohesion. But once again, Alduin could not believe that. Cooperation? Cohesion? Surely something as dreadful as mankind could never ever excel in diplomacy. Maybe his transformation has made him lose that sense. Now that probably made more sense. "Calm down." Alduin murmured to himself in a low voice. "I'm in a different world, in a different body, in different circumstances. Of course, things will get funny." Assured, Alduin decided to ignore anything else as he continued towards his goal.

Then a girl's wrathful voice rang through the air.

"SOULLL!" All of a sudden, the shattering of glass resounded above Alduin, much to his shock. Curious, Alduin instinctively looked up at the source noise overhead, just as a shadow was being cast over him. "Wha..?"

Bang! In a single instant, Alduin found his vision filled with the dirty ground as he got body-slammed by a white-haired boy with unusually sharp teeth falling from above. This mortal was dressed in what Alduin could probably guess as sleepwear. "Urgh…..?" He moaned as the boy called Soul quickly got up and began to run away in the opposite direction Alduin had intended to go to. At the same time, Alduin remain prone while glass fragments from the window the mortal had jumped through scattered around him.

"Hey! Wait, damn it!" he called angrily to the boy but once he said that, he was run over into a cloud of dust by a roaring and seriously angry girl. She had her ashen brown hair tied in two small horse tails and she was dressed in a chef's apron over what looked like a uniform. Alduin watched from the ground, his body now aching from the stampede, as the girl furiously chased down the boy, brandishing something in her hands. "Is that…..a book…..?" Without any more time to think, Alduin's eyes widened at another shadow being cast over them

"YAHOOO!"Out of nowhere, Alduin's head got flattened into the ground again by a thick black boot. As he looked up with a shaking painful headache, he saw the girl being followed by an energetic laughing boy with blue spikey hair. Apparently a ninja, for he has wearing a black ninja top along with baggy white pants. "Curse you…" he moaned.

"Sorry sir…." Alduin was then taken by surprise as a fairly tall lady apologized to him while she ran past, this time chasing the young ninja speeding away. She had her black hair in a long single pony-tail and also seemed to follow the boy's dress-style, being in a brown kunoichi uniform. Before he could shout at them at all though, Alduin was filled with shock when he felt something impact his stomach.

"You are messing up the SYMMETRY of the road!" This time, Alduin, instead of getting stepped on, was kicked away by a enraged boy in a black tux. In his blurry spinning vision, all Alduin could really notice about the boy was that his hairstyle was unusual with three white bands on the left side of his contrasting black hair. "Ahahahaha!" "Geez, Kid. You could have been a bit more gentle." Mid-flight, Aldous spotted two girls in the same clothes. Red sleeveless sweater and a cowboy gig, along with a cow boy hat. One, who was laughing, had blue short-pants and blonde shoulder-length hair. The other, staring at the kicking boy with disapproval and arms folded together, had blue tight jeans and brown long hair that reached her shoulders and behind her back.

"This…world….is…unreal…." Alduin thought as he shot up into the air. After a brief moment of nostalgic air-time, reminding him much of his flight through Skyrim air as a dragon, the black-haired man landed surprisingly right where he wanted to be. The very doorstep of the large skull building. Whether it was a blessing in disguise or just simply a case of blessed with suck, Alduin did not care. Barely able to keep himself conscious and his muscles screaming at him in horrendous pain, Alduin tried to pull himself towards the building. But when a third and much larger shadow cast over his entire trembling body, Alduin stopped in horror.

"Now what do we have here?" A childish-sounding voice. Is it a kid?

"What?" Alduin's quivering head turned up for a look and then he gawked. Nope, it was the freakiest-looking person in the world.

The being was completely black, as if his entire body was simply constituted of black robes. Even worse, Alduin could swear in his fuzzy vision, the being's body-shape was totally a triangle, with the being standing on what seemed to be one small foot. As for his face, it was a contrastingly white mask in the shape of a skull. A very kiddy-looking skull-mask.

"Wazzup~!"

"Uh…" His slackening jaw dropping to the ground, Alduin gazed on in utter astonishment before proceeding to faint. Where the hell is he again?


	2. Alduin 2

"Wakey wakey…"

"Uh…huh?" His tired heavy eyelids sliding open as he woke up, Alduin stared blankly when he found the same kiddy skull-face in his field of view. For a few seconds, he stared on without a response, the cogs of his mind slowly turning in their lethargy. After a long period of silence and staring, his long-overdue instincts jumped in.

"Argh!" Alduin leaped back in fright, standing back up onto his two feet. After what he had experienced, this world, whatever world he was in, is much wackier than he had imagined. The metallic behemoth, the random laughing sun in the sky and the fashion that people around here seem to indulge themselves in. It all just felt so alien and furthermore, so impossible beyond belief. Not to mention that it was more dangerous. Just in the first chapter, he nearly lost his life.

I mean, getting fallen on top of your back by a white-haired kid could easily fracture your spine. And a girl trampling over you like a bull that has seen red should have further cracked his ribs. And then getting stepped on the HEAD by a ninja assasin's metal-soled boot should split his skull and pulverized his brain to a mush. Finally, getting kicked so hard such that he flew from the base level of this strange city right to the castle's doorstep at least as high as a decent hill. That should have blasted him into smithereens.

And what do you know, he's still alive.

In Nirn, you would get killed -no, disintegrated if you get ambushed upon by all those things. Yet, here, in this strange world, somehow Alduin's body could withstood all those, albeit with massive damage to it, a fact that made itself clear as Alduin gripped his abdomen which was flaring with mind-numbing pain.

Maybe he did not lose every single bit of his draconian attributes. Maybe some of his previous endurance and durability transferred onto this otherwise fragile human form. Whether he should rejoice or not, however, was not on Alduin's mind. The main thing he was mainly concerned was WHAT IN THE NAME OF NIRN IS THIS THING TALKING TO HIM?!

"WHO ARE YOU?" He asked the skull-face in a booming voice as he backed away, grunting simultaneously at the pain in his stomach.

"Me? Oh, I'm just the friendly guy next door called Death." The skull face surprisingly moved. Wait, a minute, MOVED! It's obviously a freaking mask pasted on to someone's face. But a normal mask would not be able to shift its look as if it was a genuine face.

Its black eye sockets even blinked. "That mask…face...whatever...It's like a human…" Alduin muttered as he pointed to it with a trembling finger. Death was a good head (if that thing is his head) taller than him and Alduin scanned the black being up and down. This time, he noticed that the figure was shaped like an upside-down black triangle, with its 'feet' a single black stump. Even creepier. What is he? A ghost? Wisp? Troll? In all his years on Nirn, Alduin has never seen anything

"You are Death?" Alduin thought as he scanned again. This dude is no way near as frightening as Arkay, God of Life and Death. "So what, I am dead?" Alduin asked. "And this is the underworld?" Observing around, Alduin found himself to be on a gray elevated platform that was in the center of a desert. Said desert seemed to be a complete sandy yellow -no surprise there- and it stretched all the way to the illusionary horizon without any visible end. Furthermore, several weird and disjointed crosses seem to be strewn across it. Behind him was a column of giant red arches, following a paved pavement that probably led to the what Alduin could assume to be entrance. The weird bit however was that entrance, which was a fairly ordinary looking door that stood on the ground in the middle of nowhere, without any form of support attaching to it. Not even a wall.

That however was not the strange thing about it. Alduin was not very shocked by it. In fact, he had seen that magic trick before. All the major gods and princes use it: make a door appear in the middle of nowhere and yet when you open it, you are able to go to somewhere totally different, as if an exit out of reality itself. The really unusual thing that was getting to him was the normal look of the door. Just a plain, timber door. The only thing that seemed to barely fit was the very kiddy-looking skull attached to it. Even then, nothing about the door seemed to allow it to be appropriate for its designation Alduin assumed as the entrance to the underworld. Now that he observed about it, everything about this place did not seem to fit Alduin's image of what is a place of Hell.

Not only that, despite being called Hell, this place is pretty free of torture equipment. Most definitely, if the Daedric princes were to see this, they would roll around laughing on their bellies at its harmless look, while probably causing earthquakes and plagues as they go. After that, they would probably get their interior designers and replace the desert with rivers of lava, as well running over the clear blue sky with a red storm. They'll probably also add black spikes and carnivorous plants before continuing to their bedrock-

"Underworld? No no, this is the DWMA, and now you are in my office."

Oh, okay. Well, so much for that line of thought.

...

...

...

...

OFFICE?!

THIS DESERT IS HIS OFFICE!?

"YOU WORK HERE?!"

All that Alduin received was a curt nod from the strange creature. Onto the Next question:

"AND WHAT THE HELL IS DWMA?"

"Death Weapon Meister Academy. Most surely I can assume you are a student here? I mean, I found this cute little Kishin Egg soul in your pocket."

Alduin's eyes widened, preplexed by the words 'Kishin Egg'. "Excuse me?" He growled as he crossed his arms with a grouchy huff, "I don't know what you are, 'Death'. But I most certainly do not have what you call a 'Kishin-"

All of a sudden, a black extension appeared from the figure and from it popped out a huge gloved white hand that had cubey fingers. The thing is Alduin expected this being to have some sort of hand, else he would not have been able to carry his body here in the first place. What irked him however was the way the hand just seemed to come into existence out of nothing but a black body, with said body not even losing a single bit of its original mass. "What the hell…" Alduin stepped back as the hand opened, revealing within its grasp the same red floating orb that he had taken from the skeleton back in the desert. Is that it?

"It's an average Kishin soul, nothing special, but it shows that you have killed a Demon before."

Alduin's mind was now overwhelmed. A flood of questions came into his head. "Wait a second here. You, Death, can interact with mortals? And set up an Academy? And that orb is a soul? And that mortals turn into that 'soul' rather than go into the underworld? And that this world is so freaking screwed-up that it is turning my mind into mush?" He directed the torrent of at the person introduced as Death, his mouth spluttering so fast that he could barely catch his tongue when Death replied.

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes." This Death seemed to overly lively as he danced to his answers of Yes. "As for your fifth question, this world? Young man, there is only one world where humans like you live."

Alduin felt a nerve twitch at his classification as a human. How dare he-

"And this world is Earth." This place is namedafter soil? What a bad name. Might as well call it dirt. Planet Dirt. I mean, who in the world calls their piece of rock a piece of rock?

"Well then, looks like it's my turn to ask. Are you a student here? Where's your weapon partner? And…." As the reversal of roles developed fully, Alduin could not help but feel mowed over by every single bulldozer of a question. For a moment, as he struggled to answer, Alduin silently wished in the back of his mind for something to just happen if it could stop him from needing to answer this creature's questions.

If only wishes were so simple.

"Shinigami-sama, we are here." "Got any more cool new missions for us?"

Those voices. His ears perking up in recognition, Alduin spun about to the voices, knowing full well that he was not going to like what he will see. His tired body immediately froze up once he saw the two familiar figures walking through the column of arches and down the path. "You two….." It was the boy called Soul and the light brown-haired girl with a book. Both of them were in different clothes than before but Alduin, who never cared about fashion, barely noticed it. "Hey, who is this?" Soul gazed questioningly at him as they walked up to the platform.

"They obviously forgotten who I was." Alduin sighed as he exhaled, so that no one could hear him. As they neared him, he felt himself tense up. Clearly, he was not going to take chances to have another series of unfortunate events.

"Oh hi, Maka. Soul." Death greeted the duo, with what looked like a cheerful smile on his skull-face. "I'm was just in the middle of interrogating someone who had fallen out of the sky."

"Thanks to the two of you." Alduin whispered scornfully, inaudible to everyone. One part of him just urged him to pounce on them in rightful vengeance, another instructed him to embrace coolness and turn his back on them, ignoring those two like a badass. The most reasonable part of him however prevailed, and so Alduin stood there with his arms tense as they crossed, making him look unfriendly and cold but not outright hostile. At the same time, though, it made him seem as he disliked interruptions, which in fact, he did.

"So are we disturbing you?" The girl called Maka asked Death, who enthusiastically shook his head. "No no, not at all, kids. Come on in. Like always, the more the merrier."

"Merrier? This Death is like Arkay high on drugs." Alduin sighed again as he stepped back from the crowd. "Hey, c'mon young man. Oh yes, pleasantries first. This is Maka Albarn-"

"Hi." The girl greeted with a cheerful smile, her hand hurriedly hiding her book behind her back. 'Don't worry. I already saw it...' Alduin thought, shaking his head with a sigh. However, at the same time, he wondered why the girl was waving the book around at the Soul mortal in the first place. Surely, in this world, where his body took so much punishment, the humans should have some sort of enhanced durability. It's not like that tiny little book in her hand could smash someone's head in or anything.

Damn, was he wrong.

"And here is….."

Death was about to introduce the one named Soul but before he could the boy himself suddenly interjected. "Name's Soul Eater. And I'm sure you have never met someone as cool as me, compared to that flat-chested girl over there and the kiddy-looking…"

Bang! In the blink of an surprised eye, Alduin see two giant indents suddenly appear in Soul's head. One was made by a familiar book, the other made by Death's giant hand. "Urrrgh…" Alduin watched in horror as Soul fell over, unconscious and bleeding from the same indents. Note, our dear readers, that while in an anime, where pools of blood in a funny scene would not have been taken seriously by anyone. Unfortunately for our little protagonist, his origin is from a Western game franchise where a pool of blood essentially meant you are dead. So for him:

**POOL OF BLOOD = BAD**

"DID YOU JUST-?!" Alduin was nearly about to yell in terror at the sudden murder in front of him but suddenly Maka interrupted him with a nonchalant statement.

"That Soul…" Maka had an angry mark on her head as she brandished the book dangerously over the prone body of Soul Eater.

"He sure has his short-comings…." Death had the same angry mark, his gloved hand positioned in an even more dangerous fashion over Soul's neck, as if it could come down like a big guilotine blade..

"Oh well. Sorry for the rude introduction." Death and Maka suddenly went back into some sinister mood of happiness again. Death asked on as if he did not just severely injure a person a moment ago. "So what's yours?"

Shocked by the sudden change in mood, Alduin gaped for a silent moment as the cogs in his mind struggled to keep up. When he got to his senses, he squinted his eyes at the two 'choppers' in a weird scrutinization and then glanced disconcertedly at the fallen Soul. Even right now, crimson blood was spilling generously out of his dented head like a mini-fountain. The sheer revelation that somehow the scene was supposed to look funny scared the heck out of Alduin even more. "Aren't you…..guys worried that he's bleeding….?" Alduin pointed out to them.

"Who's bleeding?" Maka gave an innocent look. Much too innocent.

"He...That...Don't...Ah, never mind…."Alduin shook his head in resignation. He knew for certain that he probably would get ignored if he asked about it again. Might as well just tell them his name. "I am Alduin, the….." Biting back his rash tongue, Alduin gave himself a mental slap. In this world Earth, his status as a God is nothing. It's not just that. Somewhere, deep down, he knew he was no longer said God anymore. That uncomfortable fact was something he tried to fervently reject, but at same time he could not help but get bothered by it. "Just Alduin." He stated in a monotone.

"Alduin? Is that so? So, you don't have or know your family name?" Death pressed on. Alduin felt a bit angry by this questioning. Questions and talking always had that kind of effect on him. For some reason, dialogue and conversing just don't seem to have much chemistry with him. They just put him off and leave him in an impatient and definitely bad mood. Especially when they are from mortals.

"Yes, it's just Alduin."

"Maka, do you know him?"

"Nope. I've never seen him before." 'Yes you have…You dumbass…' Alduin swore in his mind. 'You ran over me...' His trampled back ached as if in an affirmative response.

"Then, I guess I was wrong about my judgement of you as a student. Surely, I should have remembered you in the first place if you were. So I take it you are just a wanderer who just fell out from the sky?"

Contextually that judgement was partially wrong and at the same time it was technically. mostly correct. Alduin was a wanderer for a while but he was not just a wanderer. However, seeing that saying anything else could dreadfully prolong this conversation, Alduin simply nodded back in acknowledgement.

"Well, wanderers are usually not the type of people that we could accept. In fact, Death City checkpoints should have stopped you from getting in here. And right now, I am supposed to bring you back outside and remove you out of the city." Alduin quickly stopped a rising gasp a that statement. Being thrown out of the city into the desert would be a major inconvenience. It would- "But since you have shown expertise in killing at least one Kishin Egg along with your age, I, as the principal of this Academy, would love to have you as a student here. More specifically I think you would be extremely suitable for the EAT class."

Silence followed for a brief second as Alduin allowed the sudden invitation to sink in.

"Wait a minute!" Alduin gawked as he felt himself get extremely furious. "You haven't even asked me yet and you are making me join some stupid academy of yours! Why in the world do you think-"

BANG! At the very moment he was about to blurt out the rest of the sentence: 'that I as a God would want to join you?' , Alduin felt a giant book bash into his head. He completely ignored it. "What the hell was that for?" Alduin roared at Maka as he gritted his teeth in rage. The girl, whose face was at first stern, had her eyes widen in surprise, mystified by the fact that someone was still able to yell at her even after taking a Maka Chop.

"Huh? You aren't hurt?"

"Hurt? I've MORE THINGS TO BE WORRIED ABOUT THAN GETTING HURT!" Alduin snapped at her, before a shadow suddenly descended over his forehead. Bang! Another chop. "Stop that!"

Bang! Third chop. "Will you stop doing that?"

BANG! 4th BIGGG chop. "Stop knocking on my head!"

"You are immune…" Maka raised her eye-brows in wonder as she continued to hit the complaining Alduin on the head, continuing to talk as she did. "But even then, you should know that Shinigami only stated that he would like to have you as a student. He never directly stated that he was forcing you to join us. And even with your attitude problems, given that you can take so many of my Maka Chops, I think that his decision to ask you to join is a right one. Think about it while I continue my experiment."

However, as she talked, Alduin was totally ignoring her, trying with extreme difficulty to keep himself under control. However, in the end, his impulsive and ill-tempered self was reaching his limit of annoyance resistance. "Okay! OKAY! I'll join your whatever stupid Death Taser Woolen Academy or what shit! Just stop annoying me with your goddamn chopping!" With a loud roar, Alduin finally gave in.

But the knocking didn't stop there. It got worse.

For now even Death himself was intrigued by Alduin's immunity to the CHOP, his gloved hand coming down onto Alduin's head in a furious series of blows that seem to move in tandem with Maka's own. "Well...Well this is indeed most unusual…" Standing still in total resignation, Alduin could only sigh heavily as the duo continued to assault his head. "Officers, am I allowed to go now?" Alduin muttered in a pitiful plea, his anger subdued by his desperation.

"Oh...I'm sorry. I got a bit distracted." Death apologised as he and Maka stopped their chopping, both apparently satisfied with their little experience.

"Yeah…'a bit'….."

Death continued on, with the most gleeful smile his mask could muster. Which Alduin would not call a smile since Death technically did not have any mouth beyond the three teeth at the bottom of his mask. In a voice that was chirpier beyond what Alduin thought impossible, Death acknowledged Alduin. "So, I welcome you Alduin to the DWMA, Death Weapon Meister Academy. While you are here, you will undergo training both as an academic student and as an DWMA Meister, since you obviously have no weapon partner." Alduin did not understand what Shinigami or Death(either way works) meant by partner. His idea of a weapon was a piece of metal mortals meld and make to make up for their pitiful strength. What he did not imagine were the Demon Weapons. "Now, I'm not going to bore you with all the details. I'm sure you will catch up with things as we go. The most important thing, though, is that even if you are wanderer, do you have a place to stay here? It is required if you are to be a student."

"Here? Where's here?"

"Death City of course."

"So this is really the Underworld?"

"No, no, it's just named after me."

"Oh."

Wondering to himself whether he could even find a place for himself, Alduin could only shake his human head. "No, I don't have a place to stay…"

"Well, that's a bother indeed. Because if you don't have a place, then-"

"I think I can help with that. How about Alduin staying at my place! I have an extra room at the apartment. Might as well use it?" Maka suddenly offered out of the blue. Alduin did not appreciate it. Getting mortal assistance was never without an agenda.

"What?" As if on cue, Soul revived once he heard the offer. "You sure Maka? I mean we still have that idiotic cat to deal with…."

"Of course I'm sure. Besides it's one way to stop my dad from trying to move in." Alduin pouted at this. He was right about that. Thankfully, unlike most other mortals, this Maka was brutally honest about her reasons behind the offer.

"Don't really like your dad, huh? Well that makes two of us…" Alduin felt relieved a bit. At least he and her had something barely in common. Though his reasons for hating his dad are definitely far greater than her petty ones.

"Oh, you too? Well I guess, that makes you a batter tenant and you can tell me about it sometime. And I will be able to help you with your orientation into the DWMA. Pretty much kills two birds with one stone. The only thing you will probably need to do is to keep your own belongings clean, though seeing that you have no belongings beyond the clothes on you, I don't think that should be too much of a hassle. So what do you say?"

As he begun to think about the offer, Alduin tried to weigh the possibilities of him surviving or even doing anything without the offer. If he did not take it, he probably would not be able to become a DWMA 'student' (damn, he hated that word) and in turn he might be forced to leave this Death City place and right into the wide endless desert and its sun. And if he could find a place to stay, he still needed someone to help him get around the place. Understand a bit more of where he is. Sure, all he wanted from the mortals was best at a bare minimum, but it seemed like he was doomed to fail if this offer was not taken. So with his mouth twitching reluctantly, Alduin shook his head as he gave a sigh and a tired nod to Maka. He was just thinking too much.

"Alright," Maka smiled in a friendly light as she began to brutally drag Soul away, who promptly complained in a shout.

"Wait! I'm awake, you know." Soul pulled his dented skull back to normal as he got up, his face showing no indication of having just lost what should have been a life's supply of blood. Once again, their constitution was just downright weird.

"Come on, Alduin. I'll take you to our apartment." Alduin, a surprised look on his face, watched as Maka raised her open hand in support. At first he was apprehensive. His hand could only get within an inch of hers before darting back in caution. Deciding that he still did not trust her enough to even come in contact with her, the Dragon God-turned-boy silently walked by her, giving off a cold but otherwise just tired air. Unbothered by his social shyness, Maka kept up her smile as she and Soul walked together with Alduin, leaving through the door.

"Well, well. I like how the academy students make friends so easily." Death chirped from the platform. "Though…" His forehead furrowed and he had a concerned frown. His voice became deep and serious, a change he had only used in emergency situations. Staring up into the sky, beyond the Academy, Death saw his own yellow skulled- soul, encompassing the entirety of Death City.

But what was beyond was more interesting.

It was faint, so high up in the sky and atmosphere that Death could swear it should be the size of the entire world. A massive black soul, with two giant draconic wings, each large enough to touch the moon.

A soul of a true god.

**So now Alduin gets accepted into the DWMA. Hope you like this! Please review!**


	3. Alduin 3

"So here we are….I'm sorry if it's messier than I said it was…."

Alduin gazed around with narrowed eyes. Maka and Soul had brought him to their house/apartment. After walking through the Academy, which actually seemed much more advanced and sleek than it looked like from the outside and then leaving it into the cityscape, Alduin had finally arrived at the same place where he had been crashed on and pummeled by a series of unfortunate events featuring all of the Soul Eater main characters. The house they were at was nothing much different from a normal house. However, of course, since Alduin was from a different and more medieval world, all the houses around him looked absolutely alien from what he expected. He did not really get bothered by it though since he had now become more acclimatized with the strangeness of the world known as Earth, or what he rather call as Planet Dirt.

Oh well, Maka and Soul's place was actually one of the rooms in the house, kind of like the rooms that you rent in an inn, only that each 'room' was actually a set of rooms that form an apartment. Theirs was on the fifth floor, which they reached up to with stairs. Thankfully the 'stairs' part was still consistent with his world, though Alduin, unused to his humanoid body, had spent a good amount of time trying to catch his breath as he struggled to climb up. Usually when he went up heights, he could just beat his wings and fly up there. Unfortunately, the wings were first to peel off when he fell over into this world, a memory that was still haunting him as he caught up with Maka and Soul, who stood outside at a door numbered '506'. All they needed to do was to insert some strangely-shaped metal piece called a 'key', though it surely did not remind Alduin of his Nirnian keys, into the lock and thus here they are now.

Apartment 506. And it smelled delicious.

Apparently, someone else was in the house. That person really loved fish and bathing. Evidence? The strewn piles of fish bones and soap water bubbles everywhere. Furthermore, the smell of said fish still lingered in the air like a mist and while Soul and Maka obviously cringed at the raw smell, Alduin felt himself love it. How can you blame him? He's a dragon god. Obviously he has been to a river and had his fair share of raw fish.

"Is this a...what do you people call it...ah,bra?" Alduin felt something at his feet and picked up the purple piece of clothing. "So this is your 'cat' problem?" Alduin whistled in sarcastic wonder as Maka ran around trying to clean up the place while Soul dropped down into a sofa to slack off. The entire place was a living room but it had been messed so bad as if a hurricane had been five hundred times tearing it up. "Are you sure that a cat did all this?"Alduin asked skeptically as he tiptoed through the mess, picking up lingerie which he did not know how to respond to, as well as popping bubbles that came too close to his face.

"More like 'witch' problem…." Soul commented as he picked up the remote and began to watch something. Though he was spending more time flipping through some things rather than actually looking at the screen of whatever he was supposed to using. Whether he was just trying to stay unnoticeable or just plain bored, Alduin did not know. Neither did he understand that the images suddenly flipping up on the black box-like object were called channels and that the object itself was a television set. Once again, Nirnian god meets modern life.

"Witch?" Alduin could not help but think about hags and Daedra. Surely they won't have patience for a bra?

"I thought I told you already." Alduin jumped back as a voice came from below. Looking down, Alduin jumped even high at the sight of a small black cat with a witch's hat on top of her head and cupping over one of her ears. "A talking cat? I've heard of a talking dog but a cat?"

"Who says that talking cats are impossible? And anyway I'm not a witch, just a cat monster with an incredible amount of raw power. And you are, sweetie?"

"Alduin."

"Well, sweetie pie. I'm Blair. And-" Poof! A puff of purple smoke covered up the cat. When it cleared, it revealed a well-endowed lady with purple long hair and in very revealing clothes. Much worse than any prostitute Alduin has seen in Nirn. He immediately recoiled back away from her. Other than dialogue, people without a shred of dignity was next on his list of most hated things.

"Argh!" Before the panicked Soul could escape, Blair grabbed him, accidentally pressing him against her breasts. Or maybe not so accidentally. Alduin did not know. The only thing he could do was to watch on with a growing scowl. He really hated it when people just seem to perversely give up their bodies without a shred of thought for the self. Even though this was not to that extent, it was quite on the border.

Spurt! Alduin gawked in another expression of horror as Soul suddenly nose-bled in a big fountain. Miraculously thanks to the mechanics of an anime, the blood did not reach any part of the room, thankfully saving the shocked Alduin and the ignoring Maka a grueling clean-up. Even then, Alduin watched with his mouth agape at Soul losing another lifetime's supply of blood. "Ah! He's so cute when he does that! Such a sweet! Don't you think so?" Blair beamed with her cat-like mouth as she lovingly patted the now unconscious Soul. Alduin did not think whether to respond.

"Blair, next time please don't make such a mess of the house! And you are speaking to our new tenant." Maka called out from the kitchen.

"Oh? You are a tenant?" Blair looked at Alduin, observing him with scarily sparkly eyes. Then she cheered. "Yes! Now I'm not alon-"

"Blair, he's also in the DWMA." With Maka's answer shooting through like an arrow through the knee, Blair's hype instantly died down.

"Sad face….Ah you guys at your academy always have so much fun while I just stay here at home dying of boredom." Blair's hair-ears drooped sadly.

'Seems like she had more fun thrashing the house….' Alduin wondered as he began to help Maka clean up the house while Blair continued to have 'fun' with Soul. "Help me….." Alduin and Maka ignored him.

"So where is my room?" Alduin asked Maka impatiently as he threw the last bag of fish trash into the trash chute. Usually as a god, he would get the things he wanted and now that old habit still persists. Even worse, it's not just that habit, but also the habit where he would do things with force if he did NOT get what he wanted.

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that. Just let me get the keys. And thanks for helping up with the clean-up. It's tough to do it alone sometimes." A smile still pasted on her small face, Maka led Alduin to a door farthest away from the house door. "Wait a moment," She said as she pulled out a ring of keys, clearly to find the one that was used to unlock the room. While she fumbled with them, Alduin grew even more impatient, his foot beginning to tap against the floor. As Maka put the key into the keyhole, he gritted his teeth. Things are so slow. A few more seconds and he might just-

Clack! Door was open. Alduin's impatience thankfully disappeared. "Go on in. See whether you like it!" Rubbing through his new messy jet-black hair with his human hand, Alduin brushed past the short girl as he tried to calm himself down. You have to bear with him. With all that has happened today, yesterday and the past 200 years, it was tough trying to retain control when it was so easy to just let loose and go all out in a fury. Reasoning with anger was also not the most effective thing to do but with no other method to keep it in check, Alduin continued to remind himself that he needed this place and the offer as he looked through his new place of residence.

The room was nothing spectacular. It was simple with a desk, a white-covered bed and a oak wardrobe. The floor was covered with a black woolen rug that felt smooth, yet comfortable enough for him to rub his feet against it.. The walls are all white, some of it stained with dust and dirt. Nothing too fancy. It also had another room attached to it. He did not know what it was, much to Maka's shock and she quickly introduced it as a bathroom. Apparently, if you wanted to do some business, you do it here. When he hesitantly thanked her for the help, she just looked at him with a weird expression of concern. Now, the most interesting thing in the room. Positioned at the two sides of the bed, light was shining from two small glass objects attached to the wall. "Now that I've noticed it, what's that?" Alduin pointed at those objects.

Maka's look of concern got even deeper.

"Are you sure you don't know that? Those are electric lamps. Everyone should know that."

"Lamps? Electricity?" His brows raised questioningly, Alduin placed his right hand on one of the 'lamps'. "NO!" Her eyes wide with shock, Maka tried to stop him. Too late.

"AHH! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!" In an instant, Alduin found himself running around the room in pain as his hand was burned by the heat. Before, he would be shrugging off lava if it was just an hot bath. Now without his natural heat resistance, Alduin was taken by surprise by the spontaneous burning sensation on his palm.

Blowing at his hand as if it was ever going to do any good, Alduin continued his frenzied run-about, unable to cope with the pain of getting scalded. "In here!" Taking the initiative, Maka appeared back into the room with a bucket of ice cubes. How she managed to find an iceberg and get the cubes, Alduin did not know. At the same time, he did not care. Shoving his hand into the bucket, Alduin felt a deep sense of relief. "Ahhhhhh..."

**An hour later…..**

"You sure are a lot of trouble..." Maka sighed from the kitchen, cooking dinner while Soul was helping to bandage Alduin's scalded right hand and warding off Blair's seduction.

"So you really did not have a home in Death City?" Maka asked out as Alduin heard the sound of boiling and the smell of carrots. Not very good. Vegetables irked him.

"Nope, like that Death guy said, I'm just a wanderer passing through a desert, forcibly placed into a crazy academy led by Death himself." Alduin half-lied as he flexed his bandaged hand. 'I guess it will do,' he noted as Soul continued to literally cat-fight with the laughing Blair.

"Alright! Here you go!" Alduin gawked as Maka placed a bowl of porridge in front of each of them. Except he didn't know what is porridge. "Umm...interesting...What is this?" Alduin asked as he hesitantly scooped the thick 'soup' with a spoon. It looked more like what would happen to a person if Alduin was to fire a flaming breath at him, which the more primal part of him hoped for. His undexterous hand trying to keep a decent grip on his spoon, Alduin frowned with effort as he brought a spoonful of the 'porridge' into his mouth.

"It's nothing that much really. Porridge. Just some rice boiled in water, along with some chicken, vegetables and some seasoning."

"KAH KAH KAH KAH! THIS IS RICE?" Alduin nearly choked on the porridge he was starting to eat half-way once he heard that.

"So surprised? You've never seen this before?" Maka blinked blankly as Alduin managed to regain control of his coughing. "Okay, maybe it would be better if I called it oatmeal; that term is better known here in America. Sorry if you got confused."

"I see. I guess it would do. It's just that I've never really expected this to be rice." Alduin quickly calmed down as he continued to eat, deciding not to ask what oatmeal or even America was. It would have just made him a downright idiot in front of the other three in the house. The porridge was okay though, he thought. But he has definitely eaten better.

That said, Alduin immediately thought back. When he was a god, anything was something he could eat. Once, he remembered, he ate a fellow dragon, when he was especially hungry and that meal was nothing short of spectacular, especially with a dash of seasoning and some fire breath infused into it. Blood as the sauce, tendons as the appetizers, bones as the toothpicks. Good times. Good times.

"So...huh?" Just as he was about to create a conversation, Alduin noticed that something was wrong. He was sitting alone with Maka at the dining table, eating his porridge. During his daydreaming and memory indulging, everyone else save Maka had headed back to their rooms with their food. "I guess people here don't really have family feasts, huh?" Alduin groaned as he finished the porridge.

"Sorry about that. That's usually how it is." Maka apologized.

"Argh...Enough with the apologies..." Alduin groaned towards Maka, annoyed by her seemingly lack of a backbone, even though he clearly knew from her Maka Chops that that was not supposed to be the case. This girl had a tough and determined attitude. If she was changing that just because he was a tenant, it got onto his nerves. She was honest; that he respected her slightly for. It would be best for her if she just retained her spunk. "Huh?" Maka tilted her head, looking preplexed by his comment. Noticing this, Alduin quickly changed gears. Part of him wanted to confront her and tell her to just treat him like as if he was Soul or something along those lines, but the portion that triumphed in his decision was his simple inherent fear of her annoying Maka Chops. "Nothing...nothing….I'll just go...to my room and take a nap…" Alduin silently cursed his mouth. As he was about to enter his room, Maka called out, "Hey! Make sure you wake up at 6 am. Got to go to school."

"Don't tell me when to wake up, morta..." Alduin muffled himself. "Damn it, me and my habits." Luckily, Maka seemed to have missed the last part of Aldous's angry remark. "Want me to annoy you with a chop?" The girl offered innocently, her hand already going for her dictionary.

"Alright, alright...I got it..." With a huff, Alduin slammed the door behind him, giving himself a stretch across his hurting back. "Freaking weak human body…"

Sitting at his bed, Alduin, with no conscious purpose, looked up through the window. Into the dark sky. The night sky was much more different than Skyrim's, with the moon having a mouth that has blood pouring out of it. It was not scary, just downright unnerving, since he understood that if the moon is the same distance from Earth as its Nirnian counterpart was from Nirn, then the trail of blood leaking out the corner of its mouth could be easily the size of a country. Imagine if just one stray drop just fell off and boom, flooded and pulverized a city into oblivion. Now that would be one hell of a world.

At least the stars were comforting.

The beautiful constellations. They were not of specifically Nirnian types but at least some of them seemed to be similar to ones he had seen before. The Big Saucer or Dipper. The Hunter and his Dogs. It kind of reminded him about the times when he had flown about.

The reassuring sparkle of the midnight lights.

The very rare comet sailing across the sky on its endless pilgrimage through space and time.

All these made that moment of looking at the sky seem like the perfect time to reminisce about his past.

His mistakes.

His wrongdoings.

The time to think whether the decision to oppose his dad and revive the dragons to terrorize Skyrim was the right one.

The perfect moment to decide to turn over a new leaf and start anew.

"Piss off!" Alduin stated.

And with a huff towards the stars, he went to sleep, without the slightest bit of regret.

**Looks like Alduin is still Big Bad Alduin the Black Dragon. He's gonna to stay like this for a while so do bear with him. As they always say, old habits die hard! Hope you like this chapter. Peace! Please Review!**


	4. Alduin 4

"Urgh….where am I?" Alduin got up from what had felt like an eternal slumber. "Man, what the hell is….oh?" Alduin's widened eyes suddenly noticed his hands as he was about to use them to scratch his head while think.

They are wings. His old black giant wings.

"I...I'm a dragon again?"

And he was. He was back in all his night-black splendor , his scales, talons, his proud horns and his scaled sharp tail. Free of the awkwardness of the human anatomy, Alduin allowed himself to soak a sudden and refreshing spa-like sense of relief in this body.

Within him, Alduin could feel a rising feeling he had never experienced for a while. Excitement and happiness filled his mind as he energetically flew around, taking in this nauseous feeling of flight and the wind rushing through the little gaps between his precious scales again. Mid-flight, an idea soon came to him and he tried to shout. As a storm appeared to acknowledge his call, he could not help but laugh at the awe-inspiring sight.

His head looking around swiftly, Alduin fully expected to be back in the Hall of Divines, back in Skyrim and away from that vile place known as Earth. He just knew it: that Earth was just another one of those bad dreams. Maka and Soul were nothing more than his worries preying on him. But as the fates had blessed him with the comfort of his draconic form, they had cursed him with a nightmare as well. Once he found out where he was, the storm he had created sputtered into non-existence.

Alduin found himself in a large empty space with strange black light all around him. The ground, or what was left of it, was fragmented and the pieces floating around through the place randomly, spiraling and bumping into each other like little asteroids, though it was clear that they used to be all part of a single plane. When they crash, a loud clash of rock could be seen as the two asteroids collapsed upon each other in a game of mutually assured destruction.

A shiver going down his dragon spine, Alduin dared to look down and then gasped as he witnessed the Sun. But this time, unlike its usual brilliance and magnificence, the Sun was dying away. All its grandeur and light was being absorbed by a giant cloud of what seemed like cosmic dust, with something in its center that he could not perceive clearly through the particles. The only thing he could see was a bright circle encompassing it and even that was just barely visible.

To analyse what that thing really was, Alduin willed his body flew closer in his curiosity for a closer look. That was to be a mistake he regretted too late. "Argh!" Suddenly, he felt a giant pull began to exert on him, invisible arms shooting out to drag him down into the cloud. Trying to pull away, Alduin attempted to flap his wings as fast as he could but the strength of the pull was just so great. In the end, he was only able to get to a stalemate, his flight equaling the gravity's power. There he was flapping for his goddamn life, as if he was in a game of tug of war. And he is the rope.

What was a few minutes fighting for his own life felt like a few millennium, as each daunting second passed by with Alduin concentrating incredibly on his wings as they beat with a solid rhythm. But he had no way to gaining momentum, no chance to dive down to give him the proper speed needed to break the object's tractor-like grip on him.

And so, for that excruciating period, he was unable to do anything else and he felt helpless. As he beat on and on, in his desperation, in this horrifically familiar moment, his mind involuntarily remembered the last and only time he had ever felt so powerless. It was when he was at the Dovahkin's feet, weakened, beaten and powerless. The slow deliberate steps, the triumphant grin of the warrior and the battle-mad gaze of his eyes, piercing fear into his heart. Raising his weapon, the Dovahkin sought to skin Alduin alive, humiliating and dishonoring him. It was only an hour later did the 'Chosen One' finally gave the deathblow and sent Alduin back to the Halls of the Divines.

It had tortured him, just as he was being tortured now.

"I don't want to die again." Alduin shouted out frantically in futile hopes of a savior. "I JUST WANT TO DO WHAT I KNOW IS RIGHT?! WHY CAN'T I BE ALLOWED TO DO SO?!"

"Because, brother, somethings should have been best left to mortal hands."

Alduin, eyes-widened, gawked as a shadow cast over him. In a graceful movement, familiar gray-black dragon grabbed him by the shoulder with its talons before pulling him out of the thing's gravitational reach. Moving away from the object's reach, Alduin and the other dragon flew through the airless space in their draconian agility, before setting down onto a nearby piece of large flat rock.

"Having fun, I see, brother Alduin…"

"Paarthurnax!" At first surprised, Alduin's astonished face then converted into a scowl as he glared menacingly at his own brother, the Skyrim Dragon God of the Voice or Thu'um. "You dare show your impudent face to me-" Just before he was about to use his body to charge headlong into his brother to assault him, Alduin abruptly felt his strength abruptly draining away mid-roar.

It can't be...

His balance lost, he fell over, rolling once and twice before returning once again in his ugly human form. For a moment, he was too shocked to react, lying there on the ground with his midnight black eyes staring up into the empty space. The next moment, he reacted, quickly looking at his mammalian hands and arms in barely controlled horror. His voice reverted to its deep but nonetheless human counterpart, Alduin gave out a scream of distressed agony at his loss once more.

"What did you do?" He demanded an explanation with great scorn and threat as he unsteadily but angrily got back up to his feet again, eyes wide in still lingering disbelief and now rising wrath at his reversed transformation.

"Is that how you treat someone who just saved you, brother?" Paarthurnax towered over Alduin as they faced each other a safe distance away from the cloud mass and that absorbing thing in the background. Strangely (or maybe not so strangely given sound in space) as the storm in the clouds swirled about, they gave off not a single kind of sound indicating their rotation, allowing the two's similarly unusual conversation to continue with sharp clarity.

"Screw that! You dare show your face to me! After all you did to me? After everything that happened? Do you know I am not best to be approached in this kind of situation?!" Alduin snapped as he stepped up hostilely towards his brother, ignoring the fact that Paarthurnax had the obvious size, power, speed, voice, authority, knowledge advantage. In his blinding rage, those things never registered.

"My face? My dear older brother, you haven't figured it out? You are still sleeping on Earth. This is all just some dream. And I'm interfering with the dream. I'm here to give you a warning. From Father."

Alduin paused at the last word, his raging face now melting into that of caught-off-guard surprise. "Warning? From Father? What does the old man want to tell me now?"

"See that absorbing thing?" With a grim expression, Paarthurnax gestured to the cloudmass. And that sphere-like 'thing' within.

Alduin snorted, his arms akimbo. "How couldn't I? It nearly picked me out of the sky!"

"That object is something Father has seen in his visions of late. I have convened with my students, the Graybeards, and after we have looked at the ancient texts…" Paarthurnax suddenly went silent, hesitant to continue.

Growing impatient, Alduin ferociously reached down to his feet, smiling when he got what he wanted. With a furious yell, the young man threw a stone at his older brother's face with as much force as he could muster in those weak human arms. Obviously when you compare stones against scales, scales always prevail and so the stone harmlessly glanced off Paarthrunax's armored face. But the action did its job: breaking his brother's hesitance, along with allowing Alduin to shout. "C'mon! Out with it for Chaos' sakes!"

"Alduin...You are in danger…" Dun dun duunnnn! Eyebrows raised, Alduin searched around, confused where the music came from. Unknown to him, it was an old orchestra sound piece that always popped in when moments of shock and revelation came up in the old movies. Our dear savvy readers might probably be familiar with its more drastic use in the internet meme known as the Dramatic Look (the wide-eyed prairie dog). Still, our guy here did not know what a movie, Internet, meme or Dramatic Look was, let alone the source of this classic sound. Paarthurnax, in the meantime, seemed oblivious to the sound.

"I'm in danger?" Dun dun duuuunnnnnn! Alduin gritted his teeth, his fist clenched to punch the goddamn musicians to Oblivion. Not that he could, since like many other music makers in a movie, they were located in an alternate dimension, sitting in a coffee shop, playing their dramatic music in utter safety from annoyed haters, while cobwebs started to grow around them in their perpetual imprisonment and immobilization that resulted from becoming an icon.

"From what?" DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNNN! "Shut the hell up!" Alduin screamed as even Paarthurnax began to notice.

"That absorbing thing is a black hole. But not just any black hole. It's a specific sign: Chaos himself is coming." DUNNNN DUNNNN DUUUUNNNNNNNN! The drum beats resounded through the air at full burst, loud enough to deafen anyone in the area.

But this time, Alduin didn't hear it, his eyes wide with utter shock at his brother's just-spoken words.

"Cha…Chaos…...In Chaos' name, how is he..." Alduin felt his hand shiver uncontrollably. A shiver went down his spine and his new Adam's Apple pushed against his throat, forcing him to hold his breath. Paarthurnax had the same grim and frightened look on his face, mirroring Alduin's. They both knew the gravity of the situation. They both knew who Chaos was.

Chaos. Not a mortal. Not a god. But a phenomenon. A living phenomenon. If Alduin was the god of destruction of Skyrim, then Chaos is the universal version of him. All-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful. Ancestor of gods and humans alike. Even Akatosh, Alduin's and Paarthurnax's dad, could not match Chaos, for even Time itself was said to be unable to affect him. For he was a part of the universe, integral and immortal, an aspect of the huge expanse that could not be defeated by beings that only govern worlds.

"And it's all your fault, brother." His voice laced with suppressed aggression, Paarthurnax poked his giant wing thumb accusingly at Alduin. "You and I both know what your original plan was supposed to be and yet you shamelessly bore down on Skyrim back then with your havoc and mayhem, in complete defiance from our original chosen course of action. Your madness and your darkness. Many people, towns and even the gods were disrupted by your actions. You were able to bring up so many sins that Skyrim was like a giant black spotlight to Chaos. Chaos has detected that very darkness within you and Skyrim AND Nirn and now he wants to renew the universe and 'purify' it. All thanks to you, Alduin. You cannot deny it."

"Me? Cannot deny it? What kind of accusation is that?" Alduin gritted his teeth, his vein-showing fist clenched with his fingers digging into his palm. "So what? You guys up there just want to lay all the blame on me and make me do all the work? Even our father wishes to do this?!" Alduin retorted.

"Actually, yes. All of us are still unable to accept that you would turn so suddenly but at the same time we know that you are all to blame for this catastrophe. And yes, even Dad is blaming you." Alduin's anger immediately dissipitated, replaced by jaw-dropping shock at Paarthurnax's brutal honesty. Even worse, when he heard about his dad...blaming him, it kind of just was like...a stabbing sword through his heart. For a moment, he fell silent, looking down at the ground, eyes hidden in the shadow of his messy hair. Focused on his dimunitive brother, Paarthurnax instantly noticed this reaction and he quickly tried to sympathize and cheer his dear brother up. "Ahh...don't worry, brother. We won't be leaving you all alone. Of course we will help you out with a bit of guidance here and there but in the end you are the only one who can stop Chaos. After all, it is your burden alone."

"Ohhhhhh, so now I'm the 'Chosen One'," Alduin huffed with deep sarcasm, emphasizing on the last two words. "So what did you plan to do? Banish me to some mortal realm and take away all my powers. Then you throw down some symbolic weapon of mine like a, let's say, thunder hammer which I cannot lift unless I proved that I have learned my lesson. Then finally I rise up to godhood again and fight my eternal enemy in a battle of epic proportions that will result in me triumphing over him. Then we all live happily ever after._ Please…._Like that's gonna happen."

**(Thor reference...) :)**

Paarthurnax could not help but snigger.

"Ha ha ha, your humour, though rare, always brings laughter even in the most inappropriate times. And don't worry that sort of thing only happens in the movies." Paarthurnax assured him. Then his amused expression turned into a grim one, his eyebrows knitted with what looked like concern.

"But be serious, brother. Chaos must not be trifled with. And you must understand the world you currently live in better; else you might overlook the key to beating Chaos."

"So I must learn this world better huh? This mortal realm? What things in a place like this could possibly overpower what gods can't even stop? Then if you want me to fight off a phenomenon like Chaos, then at least give me back my Thu'um! I'm powerless now. Can't you see that? Against a freaking god killer, a power or two would be_ very_ reassuring."

"In time, brother. In time. You must wait with patience. That has never been one of your best traits, but we will have to count on what little sense of understanding that you have." Alduin winced at the obvious jab. Ouch, that burnt. "As for me, I have to go now. Father is running out of power to place me in here. Our reunion must end. So, any last words for him? "

"Just tell the old man to take his pills and wait for me to shove my foot up his ass for banishing me in the first place."

Paarthurnax gave a heavy sigh at Alduin's blunt remark. "Guess you are still pretty mad at him, brother. I'll tell him to wait for good news and that you will make him proud, brother. I know that deep down, you want to say that."

"As if..." Alduin rebutted half-heartedly, his voice just barely above his breath. As Paarthurnax began to fade with a hearty laugh, he seemed to suddenly remember something.

"I almost forgot! Remember this, Alduin. Father has always told us: _There's never two of anything. Remember it!_" Paarthurnax faded away, leaving Alduin alone on the rock, just as the man responded in surprise at the sudden hint.

"Wha…..Never two of…? Arghhh!" Alduin gasped as the cloud mass had somehow managed to reach and descend upon the rock he was standing on. In a desperate attempt to save himself, Alduin's hand reached out and grabbed onto a jutted out area of the ground, just in time for the rest of his body to rise into space, being drawn in by the thing he now knew was the black hole.

"**Toooooo many staainnnssss….."** Beads of sweat across his forehead, Alduin heard the disembodied powerful voice resonating everywhere around him. It did not hold malice against him. Instead, it was more monotonous, as if what it was doing was just part of its job. That was Chaos. **"Too many mistakes…"**

As his strained fingers begun to lose their hopeless grip on the rock, Alduin looked back in fright towards the ever-increasing size of the black hole. Much to his despair, it was not only him getting pulled into the space-perforating darkness. The rock he so desperately hung onto was itself being drawn in by the gravity. **"Too many impuritiesssss…"**

"AHHHHHH!" At the top of his panting lungs, Alduin screamed as he finally lost his hold, his helpless body hurtling away towards the ball of gravity. The time when the dragon had been banished flashing through his head, he now spiraled down towards the sinister sphere in the center of the roaring cloud mass. That was the last thing he knew and remembered about his dream.

Alduin was shocked awake as a gust of wind, fanned by something very large being pulled back, blew into his face. Temporarily disorientated, the poor boy didn't have the time to see, let alone dodge, a giant dictionary, easily the size of a large bookshelf, hurtling towards his head.

"TIME TO WAKE YOU UP! SUPER MAKA CHOPPP!"

BANGGGGGGG!


	5. Alduin 5

"Ouch….Watch it…." Alduin moaned as Maka carefully rubbed cooling cream on his sore head. Apparently, the meister had heard him screaming amidst his sleep and despite her previous Maka Chops on his head, she was unable to wake him up due to his ridiculous immunity to her chops. Thus she had to dish out the Super Maka Chop, a chop with a dictionary with the incredible size of a bookshelf.

And all it did was give Alduin an abrupt wake-up call and an aching bruise.

"I never really expected someone to survive that." Maka gave a apologetic smile as Soul came into the room all dressed for school. He was wearing a long-sleeved orange black sweater and matching running jeans, along with a headband with the words 'Soul' on it. "Then why the hell did you try it on him?" Soul snorted, flashing a toothy grin, his teeth razor-sharp like a shark's.

"Like I already explained, Soul, I had no choice," Maka snapped back and then turned back to Alduin. "So, Alduin, you have nightmares?"

"Yeh, what about them?" Alduin tried to avoid her questions. After the Chaos revelation, he wasn't actually ready for things like that. As he bit through the breakfast she made, a simple toast bread, he briefly scanned Maka's clothes. The bookworm, unlike the coolness-obsessed Soul, seemed to prefer a neat uniform composing of a white long-sleeved formal shirt with a yellow vest and a red-black striped short skirt.

"Well, you see, most of the time in the movies when there's nightmares, they are usually either a vision into the future or a warning or something along that lines."

"Well, those are the movies. A nightmare is a nightmare and I intend to forget it," Saying this, Alduin shot Maka a hostile glare for her curiosity. Right now, he didn't want to talk. Too many things were going through his head right now. Chaos. Paarthurnax. His dad. Nirn is in danger. The fact that he was entrusted with such a mountain of a task. Yep, he didn't want to talk.

"Alright…alright…I'll back off…" the auburn-haired girl raised her hands in peace as she finished applying the cream. 'Good,' Alduin rolled his eyes as he lethargically gnawed away the last corner of his breakfast.

"Best for you to stay that way…" Muttering irritably under his breath, Alduin gave a hard look at the clock. In Nirn, there weren't such clocks but he managed to understand it eventually. "6 exactly. So are we gonna go or not?"

"Just a minute. I just need to get some books and we will be off."

**A few minutes later,**

Alduin and company were heading straight for the DWMA, halfway from the apartment to the base of the academy stairs. Maka, a model student apparently, had already taken the initiative to introduce Alduin to the DWMA proceedings and classes.

"So got it?" Cheerfulness in her voice, she asked for Alduin's acknowledgement as they continued walking.

"Um…..let's see. You guys have Science, Maths, Social Studies, Physical Education , Weapon Training….Quite normal…..And then Attitude Problem classes, Ways to deal with Excalibur Classes, Madness Classes, How to avoid a Big Head classes…..Are these for real?" Alduin raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Maka nodded positively. "Yup, and if you are interested, you can practice your gun at the shooting range in the Academy."

"Gun?"

"Don't you have one in your holster?" Soul pointed at the L-shaped object.

"You mean this?" Alduin pulled the 'gun' out of his holster and blinked blankly at its metallic surface. Then a thought flashed through his mind and he hurriedly shoved the gun back to the side of his belt. "Thanks! I almost forgot about it." Alduin quickly covered the fact that he didn't know it was a gun. If he hadn't, his identity as a person not from Earth was likely to be compromised. "So you're a gun meister?" Soul asked out of the blue, catching ALduin off-guard.

"Erm…erm….." Alduin didn't know what to say. But Maka suddenly interjected. "It's alright. We won't intrude any more. Right Soul?" Maka jabbed Soul in the ribs as a warning. "Right…right…." Soul quickly nodded as the trio walked on, the atmosphere already awkward and any further conversation impossible.

**Ten minutes of walking later,**

"Class, I would like to give you Alduin. He's a new student here and I hope you all will treat him nicely. And don't dissect him. That responsibility is for me." Hearing that last comment, Alduin's night-black eyes narrowed nervously at the class teacher. He was a normal-looking guy, except the fact his clothes had a surgery theme on them, with many noticeable stitches. To make it worse, the gray-haired man had a freaking screw in the side of his head. Even his face had stitches!

"Yes, Professor Stein."

"Now, Alduin, would you please take a seat beside the three empty ones?"

Obeying, Alduin softly groaned as he sat at the seat at the third row, nearest to the stairs dividing the rows of tables. The classroom took the elevated look of a lecture hall, with the rows in the back the highest and the ones in the front the lowest. With a heavy sigh of resignation, Alduin allowed his head to fall onto his table. Right now, the last thing he wants to remember was the menacing image of Chaos towering over him and having him for a snack.

This was gonna be a long day.

**At 7.59 am,**

Whirr! Whirr! His eyes wearily half-open, Alduin twirled his pen in boredom. The good doctor, a sadistic smile on his face, was now dissecting some sort of super endangered panda for everyone to see. However, Alduin felt that the doctor's methods were boring. Especially if you compare it to decapitation, roasting with a fire breath, tearing apart with your razor sharp claws, squishing mortals under your foot. Yeah, those methods beat his surgery knife hands down.

Looking up towards the clock to pass the time, Alduin watched as the dull minute hand moved directly over number 12, signifying that the time is 8 o'clock.

Bang! All of a sudden, the door opened and whoever came in caused Alduin to drop his pen and his jaw to drop.

Stein, his screwed head resting on his swivel chair's back, gave a small smile as he addressed the late-comers. "Well, well. Mr Kid. I'm sure you are aware that you and your partners should have arrived here at 7…"

"Don't say 7!" Alduin gawked as the black-suited boy gave an outburst. About 7? "Say 8! 8! 7 is a number that cannot be symmetrical no matter where you look at it. I want 8! 8 is a number that can be symmetrical both horizontally and vertically. And that….Woahh!"

Distracted by his high-speed rambling, Kid was suddenly tripped by a leg of Stein's chair, deliberately placed in his path. Bang! In a moment, his face smashed straight into the classroom's polished wooden ground. "Ah hahahahahaha!" The blond haired girl accompanying Kid laughed at the sight, as if she had been on some sort of energetic steroids. The other girl, sporting long brown hair, could only give a head-shaking sigh.

"Now then, Ms. Patty and Liz, would you be so kind as to bring Mr. Kid to his seat? Thank you. Oh and say hi to your new classmate beside you. His name is Alduin. So now let's continue on the intestines of the panda…."

Alduin watched as the two girls named Patty and Liz dragged the boy up the stairs and to the three seats right beside. "You got to be kidding me…." He groaned in exasperation, remembering his getting-kicked-int-the-sky experience with them.

"So you're new here?" Liz was first to ask him. He nodded, silent and with a dark face. Talking to mortal strangers was a no-no for him.

"Not very friendly huh? Well I guess everyone is a bit pressurized by the competition…But the DWMA is quite a nice place. You just need to get used to it, that's all."

"Competition? What competition?"

"Oh sorry, I forgot you were new here. Recently, Death has announced that he had found a rare artifact that he now putting up as an award for a contest. According to Kid, his dad is…."

"Wait a minute." His ears perking at the word'dad', Alduin quickly halted her mid-sentence. "Death is Kid's dad? And Death is married? A freaking grim reaper has a wife?"

"You didn't know? Death the Kid is Lord Death's son. As for his mother, don't ask me. Kid probably knows more about that or maybe nothing at all. I'm just a partner. But anyway, the contest I mentioned. It's happening 3 months from now but people are anticipating it a lot. Mostly the teachers but some of the students are also as excited."

"So what is this contest anyway? A battle royale? Treasure hunt? A tournament?"

"Sorry, new guy. I don't know. Death just said it's a contest and not even Kid knows what his dad is doing most of the time."

As if she had been eavesdropping, the blonde-haired girl named Patty popped from behind Liz, flashing a wide grin. "Liz, you talking to the new guy? Hiyah, I'm Patty." The cheerful girl waved her hands in a 'Hi'. Alduin could only frown back, inexperienced to such a hyperactive girl.

"Uh….hi…...If you'll excuse me, I better get back to just listening to the doctor." With that said, Alduin decided it's best to ignore the duo and he went back to chewing on the blunt end of his pen and twirling it around. Patience was running low in him.

**At break time,**

Alduin rubbed his head in frustration. Already, the very idea of a school content is getting boring. As a god of Time, he had pretty much known everything and now some mere mortal teacher is just trying to teach him what he already knows. And Alduin could feel the watching eyes all over him. Apparently, he wasn't supposed to be alone. Unless he is an autonomous weapon, Alduin was supposed to have a weapon partner.

He never even knew that Soul could transform into a scythe.

"You can transform into a scythe?" Alduin dragged his hand across his face as he remembered the time when he glared at the boasting Soul with unbelieving eyes at first. But when a flash of light surrounded the white-haired boy and then dispersed to reveal a red-black scythe, Alduin had been pretty much tongue-tied.

Alduin slammed his face against the table, ruffling his already messy jet-black hair. "Aw man, Paarthurnax. I might not like you but I really need some 'guidance' right now…."

Then Alduin heard a giant yell of energy and pride. One that forced a shiver down his spine. "YAHOOO!" Not another one of them... Giving himself a face palm, Alduin jumped back as the same ninja boy from before landed right on top of his desk. "Hey! New guy. Everyone is talking about you, you know. Man, you are stealing the spotlight from Black Star. Me, the Star of the Academy." The boy snorted, posing with a finger towards the ceiling. Alduin sweatdropped. "If you are a star, then I am a freaking god….." Alduin shook his head, his patience draining away like a leak, as he tried to ignore the noisy kid.

"God? Don't you know, new guy? I plan to surpass God!"

"Then plan somewhere else, you asshole…Not in my face…Jeez…" Alduin rubbed his face, annoyed and planning to punch the boy. But before he could, Black Star agilely back flipped and landed at the whiteboard. Alduin could not help but give the boy credit. He was obviously fit.

As Black Star began to rapidly write heaps of praises to himself on the board, Alduin noticed from the corner of his eye the same woman who had apologized to him approaching. They just keep coming one after another. Walking up to him, she had a gentle and somewhat apologetic smile on her white face, a smile that put Alduin on guard.

"What do you want?" Alduin scowled.

When someone acts gentle to you in Skyrim, they are more than likely to stab you in the back. And if they are for real, they are quickly killed off by those who actually have a backbone. That's Nirn for you.

"Sorry about that. Black Star's always like this but he can be quite a reliable guy."

"You're his partner?" The woman nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm surprised…..You two don't seem very compatiable…." Alduin sweatdropped as Black Star threw a piece of paper with a badly drawn star at him. His tired arms reaching out to snatch the paper, Alduin gave Black Star a questioning look. "That's my signature! Keep it to remember that you knew someone known as Black Star."

"Screw you…." Alduin muttered back as the woman desperately urged Black Star to stop his ego attacks.

"I'm sorry about him. And I haven't really introduced...I'm Tsubaki….And you are?"

"Weren't you paying attention during Stein's intro?"

"I just wanted to hear it from you. And anyway, Stein forgot to give your full name."

"That is my full name. I'm Alduin….idiot…"Alduin whispered the last word, making sure it is inaudible. Why can't humans just keep their questions to themselves?

"I'm sorry about that." Tsubaki apologized to the frowning boy again. "I've see that you guys have already introduced…" Surprised by the sudden interruption, Alduin turned to see Maka and Soul approaching from the side. Liz and Patty, with Death the Kid now fully awake and already fully introduced to Alduin, also joined the surrounding around him.

"What are you guys? Some sort of gang?" Alduin asked as the group gathered. "And why are you all crowding over here anyway?"

"Oh it's nothing much…." Death the Kid was the one who first spoke, as he gave a acknowledging nod to the listening teenager.

"We always want to see the combat skills of new guys….." Black Star was next, beaming a broad smile.

"And so Black Star wants to challenge you….It's just a friendly match, nothing more. Professor Stein is overseeing it." Maka finished the explanation, giving the stunned youth a playful wink. Wide-eyed, Alduin allowed the offer to sink in and instantly felt that he had just been insulted. What audacity they have to challenge a god like him. "You want to fight me? You want to die so soon?"

Before he refused outright, Alduin scanned the face of the ninja boy. Alduin was then surprised to find that the egomaniac's face was brimming with confidence in his own abilities. Plus that back flip a while back... 'On second thought, I don't know the combat prowess of this boy. I don't even know what I can do….' Alduin thought as he nibbled his pen in indecision. 'He might just be able to beat me...'

"But I guess better late than never….."

**Fight: Alduin vs Black Star. Next Chapter! Please review!**


	6. Alduin 6

"So basically these are the rules: there are no rules." Stein stated flatly as he sat on his swivel chair, seeming more interested with turning the large metallic screw on his head than with refereeing the match. The match was being held just outdoors of the Academy. Death the Kid, Maka and company stood at the doctor's side while Black Star was getting ready to face Alduin. "Ready, Tsubaki?"

"Right." Tsubaki nodded as a brilliant light surrounded her. Growing smaller and smaller, the glowing sphere moved into Black Star's hands, the light dispersing to unveil a dual chain scythe held tightly with his hands. Alduin's jaw nearly dropped at the unusual weapon. "No! Got to stay focus…." Alduin remembered as he readied himself, taking a battle stance .

**Alduin's POV:**

I made sure my stance was that of the countless of warriors that have charged head-long at me and died. Sure, they died but they were warriors. That should be good enough. The gun was heavy at my side, myself having no clue on how to use it. Got to think. Got to think.

"Blanking out?" I was snapped awake by the voice and my eyes widened as a pair of scythes came for my unprotected head. I barely managed to sidestep the scythes, one of the blades nicking my skin.

Jumping back, I landed unsteadily while that egomaniac Black Star grinned, flames aburning in his blue eyes. Damn this wretched human body! And that attack just now..."What the hell! You could have killed me!" I roared towards the ninja but he simply rubbed his nose snobbishly, completely ignoring my question.

Damn mortals! I'll get that kid! I tried to run at him with that very intention but my form, my experience with my human body was bad at the start. I was definitely a million times better at flying than I was at running. Tripping over my very own feet, I had had only seconds to roll out of the way of a scythe throw before limboing below a horizontal sweep.

The ninja was serious. He was also fast, faster than any Nord who tried my patience. Not only was he hard to hit, his proficiency with that strange-looking chain scythe made fighting him hard. Somehow managing to run up to him, I gave him a straight, if that's what the mortals call it, but he deftly dodged it and followed up by giving me a taste of my own medicine in the chest. However, I admit that this body of mine was much tougher than an average human and I took a few steps back, the pain of the punch already fading away.

"My you are resilient." Black Star grinned as if he had been waiting for worthy competition for a long time.

I decided to focus on his chest rather than his head, figuring that a speedy character like him would have a poor constitution. That's the difference between archers and warriors. Their constitution always differ so much. With that in mind, I faked out at his head and as he tried to duck, I gave another straight at my target's chest. Bang!

I got him.

Or so I thought.

"Good punch…You are not bad but watch this…." I could barely react as the boy, seemingly unscathed by my punch, suddenly grabbed me by the face and I could swear that his hand begun to give out yellow lightning. BOOOM! The force behind that palm attack was tremendous. Magic was first in my mind as I flew back and struck against the ground, before finally skidding back onto my feet. Magic. That was definitely magic.

I snarled towards that ninja. "How can a mere kid like you know magic?"

**Ominiscient:**

Maka and Kid watched with unsurprised looks as Alduin fell back from Black Star's attack. They then gasped at Alduin's sudden question. "How can a mere kid like you know magic?" Alduin spat as he got up.

"Magic? I'm a ninja. I don't know magic…" Black Star shook his head with a laugh. Bringing out his hands, he playfully demonstrated them crackling with yellow electricity. "That's just a taste of my awesome Soul Wavelength. SOUL FORCE!"

"Soul wavelength?"

"It's a result of Black Star's naturally large soul…" Alduin turned to the explaining voice as Stein suddenly interjected, now interested in the ongoing battle. "Some people can use their soul wavelength to directly attack you. Like myself." Stein raised his hand and the same forks of lightning, though green, surrounded the entirety of his forearm.

"You are kidding me, you can fight with your soul?" Alduin obviously could not believe it.

**Alduin's POV:**

Fight with your soul. No shit. It's like you are bashing someone with your goddamn life. "Not your soul…Your soul wavelength….Don't you know the reason behind a weapon-meister partnership?" Of course not, Mr Frankenstein, enlighten me. "No I don't." I tried to cover my annoyance-induced anger.

"It is for Resonance. When a weapon and meister resonate the wavelengths, they are able to enlarge their wavelength and use it as an attack. However some like Black Star can just attack outright with the wavelength."

I raised my eyebrow at Stein's words. Then I gave a questioning glance towards the chain-scythe in Black Star's hands. "Then why do you have a weapon partner in the first place?" I directed the question to my opponent, who had simply been standing there listening to Stein.

But the answer was quick.

"Dummy Star."

My jaw dropped as sand-like grains began to peel off 'Black Star' and what I had thought to be the ninja boy was replaced by Tsubaki in her human form. Ambush! I frantically looked from left to right, my stance instantly on guard. But where the hell is that asshole? I knew he was trying to catch me off-guard and so I turned behind to look, expecting to see him attack from that direction. But no sign of him.

"Black Star Big Wave!" BOOOOMMM! Before I know it, I was feeling the impact of an elbow and a fist punching together at my back. Not only that, the same massive force, this time twice-fold, came along with it. The boy had been in front of me the whole time? I got time to glance at Black Star and noticed he was half-way peeling off his disguise of Tsubaki. "Double Dummy Star…"

Shit! I found myself flying in the air, propelled by the mammoth Soul Force again. I wanted to fly but I couldn't. Not without my wings. The air passed by my face, splashing the cool wind on it like cold water. It was nostalgic at first but it wasn't long before I landed into the ground like a falling meteor, leaving a crater where I landed. The dirt was plastered onto my face and my vision was blurry from disorientation. I barely rubbed the sand off before uneasiness went through my body. Quickly taking a duck, I goggled at a shuriken missing my head by inches.

As the surinken went over me again back to its master, I brought myself up and realized that Black Star actually has more than one type of weapon. In actual terms, Tusbaki was a changing weapon. It was not just interesting to see something like that, but also unnerving at least.

I could be beaten here right now.

At this thought, I suddenly could feel something familiar coming to me and then the very brief fear I had for the boy immediately disappeared. "In time, brother. In time."

And that time was now. It was only one but it will do. Against a mere mortal.

"FUS!" I roared with all-new ferocity and command as Black Star pounced to finish me off. BOOM! "Argh!" As expected, my voice formed a force wave and Black Star was totally taken by surprise. Even when knocked back, the boy was completely oblivious of the invisible wave and after being stunnedd for a moment, he shook it off and charged at me again. But I knew what to do with such pesky idiots.

I roared again. One after the other, the waves of Unrelenting Force began to push the stubborn brat back. Maka and the rest of the mortals, standing at the sides, were clearly stunned by this. I could not be surprised. My Thu'um was not perfectly reformed but at least it was back and even if it was a different world, its power still held that trance of fascination over mortals.

My centuries of experience with the Voice coming back to me, I focused on the single word Fus and unleashed a final wave, this time visible in a hue of clear blue, that finally overcame the boy's defiance. The feelings of satisfication washed over me as that foolish mortal fell back and had his face rubbed against the ground. Revenge is so sweet.

I have only one word for him.

Pathetic.

_Sahlo._

**Omniscient:**

"What...what was…that?" Maka stammered as Soul beside was too dumbfounded to reply. They had just seen an incredible turning of the tables. In their astonished eyes, Alduin had used his mere voice to launch Black Star backwards. Even Stein was wide-eyed but the experienced doctor quickly regained his composure. "It's not over yet. Black Star is still strong."

Just as he said that, Alduin, who had been smirking for a moment, felt a rush of air coming from the down Black Star. His eyes widening, the boy gawked as dark shadow tendirls began to surround the boy. He even found himself took a step back as Black Star rose up. In his hand he now brandished a black samurai sword. "Not bad! But time for you to taste my trump card! The Uncanny Sword!"

Standing his ground, Alduin began his barrage of Unrelenting Force on Black Star. At first he thought that the boy was just going to fall like last time but...The waves were obviously powerful but they were unfocused. Somehow able to see this, Black Star made use of the small point of his sword to stab through their wave's weak points. Maka and Death watched intently as the two combatants were forced into a stalemate, Alduin pushing Black Star back with Force Shouts and Black Star slicing through them.

Alduin was confident that he could beat this burst of power, but then he noticed that Black Star had something strange about him. Something was odd with Black Star. Looking at his adversary's booted feet, Alduin was shocked when he noticed the shadows.

They were rather like dark tentacles branching off Black Star's own shadow. However, instead of being merely the indicators of a lack of light, these shadows began to physically bind Alduin to the ground. "Get off!" Alduin yelled but that moment of distraction was just what Black Star needed. The source of shouts was gone for a brief second.

Breaking through the last wave, Black Star dived towards Alduin and promptly whacked the side of his head with the blunt end of the sword. "Gotcha!" Knocked back, Alduin was shocked as the tendrils proceeded to cut him, causing skin-deep wounds.

Attempting to refocus his Voice, he was once again caught by surprise as Black Star summoned a torrent of shadow-fists and they literally shadow-boxed him. "OOF!" Alduin felt the wind being blown out of him while he tried to stand against the onslaught.

"Now for the finale! " Eyes narrowed at his victory, Black Star surrounded his katana blade in the shadow tendrils. "Taste this!" Alduin gasped as Black Star charged with the tendril blade. He was almost on top of him. He couldn't find enough time to charge up his shouts. His hand looking for anything to fight back, it grabbed the handle of the gun in his holster.

Bringing it up, Alduin quickly attempted to pull the trigger. However, he couldn't push it in and then found out too late that he had left the safety on. He didn't know how to use a gun. Now right in front of his opponent, Black Star gave a hoot of triumph as he took his strike while Alduin shut his eyes to prepare for the excruciating pain of defeat. It seemed like it would be the Dovahkiin all over again.

But not this time.

The blade stopped short of Alduin's face and he found himself staring wide-eyed as the tendrils retreat back into Black Star's normalizing shadow. Black Star himself suddenly looked tired and weary, his face turning gaunt, and he fell down to the ground beside Alduin. "Black Star!" Her voice loud with concern, Tsubaki turned back to her human form, kneeling at her fallen meister's side.

"He'll be fine." Stein reassured her as Maka, her hands behind her back, approached the silent Alduin, who sat against the wall scowling over his near loss. The rest of the gang crowded around the unconscious Black Star, all sweat dropping at his dreamy murmurs of him surpassing God. " I guess you managed to ward off Black Star until his energy ran out. And how did you..." Maka began to ask. But Alduin swiftly cut her off.

"It's nothing."

"No really! That ability is quite incredible. Your voice managed to…."

"I said, it was NOTHING!" Maka jumped back at his sudden outburst as she barely dodged a Unrelenting Force. "Whoa, whoa, what's up with you?" Soul snapped at Alduin, who immediately glared at him.

A dark scowl on his face, Alduin simply walked past the group and he left them there as he entered the academy. His mind was wild with thoughts as he continued to push aside anyone who was in his way to the classroom. "Stupid mortals….."

"They are a disgrace…"

Sitting at the table, Alduin looked at his human hands. His goddamn human hands. Suddenly his Voice doesn't seem so impressive. Suddenly he couldn't see himself as a proud dragon that would bring both destruction and creation to the land of Nirn. Suddenly he had been nearly beaten by a mortal. Again! _There is never two of anything._ Those words echoed through his head.

"I'm a disgrace…."

**So Alduin suddenly realizes how much he has fallen and has left his relationship with the Soul Eater Team very doubtful. Next Chapter will be a bio on Alduin himself. Followed by continuation of classes. Please review if you would have me utilize 1****st**** person more often or the usual omniscient.**


	7. Extras: Alduin

BIO TIME!

Alduin v1

**Name:** Alduin, Eldest Son of Akatosh

**Aliases:** World Eater; Maelstrom of Time; Harbinger of the End Times

**Race:** Human/Dragon/God/Fallen

**Position:** Skyrim God of Time and Destruction

**Biography:**

Alduin led the reviving of the dragons to bring down the human world. However, three heroes faced against him and one of them had intended to destroy with the legendary Elder Scroll. However, the Scroll sent Alduin into Time itself and he was sent 200 years forward to the time of the Dragonborn. Also known as Dovahkin, the Dragonborn sought to defeat Alduin as the god revived his old dragon comrades and nearly brought about the true End Times.

However, thanks to the three heroes' spirits and the assistance of Alduin's brother, Paarthurnax, Alduin was finally beaten in Sovngarde, the heaven of Nirn, and his soul was brought back to the Hall of the Divines. There he would face judgement from his own father, Akatosh. And that is how he came to Earth.

**Personality:**

Alduin is inherently evil, for he is a god of wanton destruction. He is somewhat arrogant and condescending of mortals, who he believes (and with good reason) are below him. Alduin is however, not all evil, as his own loyalty to fellow gods and his dragons is unmatched. His relationship with his brother Paarthurnax was on much better terms before the rivalry. Furthermore, he had believed that renewing the human world through force was actually carrying out his father's will.

Alduin is smarter than most Soul Eater characters due to his age-old experience. However his easily sparked rage somewhat blinds him from using that knowledge wisely. Alduin is also self-confident in a fight but this self-esteem can be easily crushed if a mortal even got a sliver of a chance of beating him.

Alduin is also impatient, despite being a god of Time. He is a man/dragon of action that would rather eat something raw than argue with others about how to cook it. He is also a great leader in the eyes of the dragons but this quality of his is diminished especially in conversations with mortals. Alduin is also willing to say his mistakes but to apologize to mortals is an entirely different story.

**Powers:**

**Power over Time **- Alduin can control the flow of Time within his domain. He can even cut off the Time of a person, literally wiping him or her from existence. However he has lost this ability when he is banished.

**Master of the Voice **- Though not as strong as Paarthurnax, let alone his father, Alduin is immensely formidable with the Voice or Thu'um. He is capable of changing the weather in a whim, breath out long streams of fire and frost and even call down a meteor shower with a call. Furthermore, he is most notable as the perfector of the call of Resurrection, allowing him to revive his long dead dragon comrades and bring about terror.

**Worldly Knowledge** – As a god, Alduin possesses knowledge few can ever hope to achieve. However, he considers knowledge to be only something to use to argue and chat, which is something Alduin absolutely hates.

**Blessing of the Dragonscale **– Even in his human form, Alduin is naturally tough and can take more hits than most people can.

**Destruction** – His status as god of destruction had given Alduin an aura that could strike fear into anyone's hearts. However, this power is lost when he was banished.

**World Eater** – The source of Alduin's alias. It's a power only bestowed to him. It begins by consuming the age of the organisms on the planet, from oldest to youngest. Then he uses the accumulated age to literally age the entire planet, until the planet finally collapses on itself.

**Appearance as a Human:**

Alduin is a tall young male who has a theme of black. He wears a black trenchcoat over a white shirt with conincidentally the black symbol of a Skryim dragon. He wears long flexible black pants and matching combat boots. He has night-black eyes and he has an old battle scar on his left cheek. His hair, not doubt black, is puffy and reaches the back of his neck. As an accessory, Alduin wears the bandage he had gotten for burning himself on the lamp.

**Hoped you liked the quick bio! Please review!**


	8. Alduin 7

**Alduin's POV:**

Classes were continuing as I rested my head on the desk, bored to death by the silly content. The only things I would ever take notice of were the talks about souls and this world called Earth. Anything else, I would just ignore.

Apparently red souls that had a stain of black on them were Kishin Egg Soul. Blue-white souls are normal human souls. If a human consumes too many other human souls, his own soul degenerates into the madness wavelength and he becomes a pre-Kishin.

Pfft, sounds to me like Sheogoroth, the Daedric Prince of Madness, would love to see that.

And if a weapon consumes 99 pre-kishin souls and 1 witch purple soul, then the weapon becomes a powerful Death Scythe. Like as if I will ever need to make a Death Scythe.

Glancing at the group, I noticed everyone save Black Star avoiding my glare. I couldn't blame them . After all my outburst was a bit over the top. But I will never admit that to mere mortals. The ninja boy, well, he was unconscious when I yelled so I guessed he didn't hear it. Even so I'm still surprised that his confidence could bounce back so fast.

That's what makes mortals so annoying. They never know when to quit for their own good.

Argh, thinking about mortals is a waste of time. Chaos. I have to focus on Chaos. I've never really met the living phenomenon. But I've heard stories that he could match all of the gods plus the Daedra lords and still have time to consume the universe.

Damn it. What do I do? I looked at my body. The feeble human body. Even as a dragon I can't match Chaos, let alone as a mortal. I glanced at the mortals around me. Some were listening attentively like Maka. Others like Soul and Black Star were slacking off and weren't paying much attention. One in particular was focusing more on making sure that his name was perfectly written than listening.

All so ignorant of their impending doom. Hell, they even had time to have a contest over some artifact.

Wait a minute. I snapped my fingers as I realized this. Artifact. Maybe I need to get this artifact and then plan on after that. But it's in a month time. Chaos could arrive by then. No, slow down. I calmed my mind. I recalled my facts on Chaos. Chaos is the eternal phenomenon of the universe. However, if I am correct, he is so powerful that he is asleep most of the time. So even if he is coming, Chaos will probably be taking a lot of time to get here.

So I get the artifact but before that, maybe I can check out the library first. "Understand this world better…" My brother's words. Thanks a lot. I looked at Maka. She was, as always, taking down notes and paying attention to the teacher. However, I noticed her looking at me from the corner of her eye. Seeing that I was looking back, she quickly looked away.

Better ask her.

**End of class….**

The bell rang, marking the end of the class. The hairs on the back of my neck raised up in response and I tensed a bit. I was more used to the bell being a warning signal in the Skyrim towns than a loud way to end classes.

I walked up to Maka. It wasn't easy. Part of me wanted to just blast her with my Voice, while the another wanted to squish under my foot. But I sucked it up and managed to stand in front of her. It's an…..achievement…

"Yeah?" Maka spoke with a monotonous voice. Acting all cold and disconnected. I really wanted to wring her neck but I clenched my fist instead. Then the words were next. They persistently refused to come out of my mouth, staying in my stomach. I stood there for half a minute, probably looking like an idiot or a freaking goldfish with my mouth opening again and again to speak and then failing to do so.

"Hey man, you okay?" Soul, looking from the side, suddenly gave his concern. My eye twitched. The two are probably laughing at my stupid appearance.

Biting my tongue and cursing my own habit, I finally dragged the words out of my mouth.

"I'm….sorry…..I've….bee…been….a…bit….." My apology was slow and I nearly reversed more than once but eventually I gave enough will to continue. "…..short-tempered…..So…I…guess..I can….tell you about…..my voice….But can you…help me with some…research in the library…..? I reckoned….that a bookwor…..I mean…..avid reader like you…could help me find some relevant….books?"

"Come again?" Oh geez, I have to say it again? I looked at the girl in annoyance but swallowing my feelings, I said it again. "I said….I'm sorry for my outburst…and I'll be…..happy….to tell you about….my voice….if you can help….me with some research…"

"Well…sure!" The girl smiled. Soul nodded along, though I clearly didn't ask him. I raised an eyebrow. That was easy. Too easy. I was naturally cautious around such ease. You would never know when an ambush or trap will come by to bring you down. But then again, I guess I'm just overreacting. "Lead on." I told her, somewhat forcing a smile.

**Omniscient:**

Stein watched the entire apology given by Alduin and he smiled as he and Maka and Soul went out. No doubt to the library of course. "Alduin is clearly something special. And he seems more like a new born baby than an actuall teenager. I wonder….?"

Stein lit his cigarette, despite the school's rules and gave a little puff. "Now I really want to experiment on him…." Stein could feel his natural mad persona creeping in. Fortunately, he has become more attuned to it and continued to maintain his good doctor attitude.

"Death might actually be on to something….." Stein smiled as he gave another puff of smoke, which coincidentally formed a skull shape.


	9. Alduin 8

**Alduin's POV:**

The library, though was no way as large as that of the Archives of the Divines, was still considerable. For the first time, I felt like a puny mouse as I stepped into the room and found myself gawking at the giant pillars that had long stone arch-bridges connecting them at different levels.

However the ground floor was a mess with piles and literal mountains of books everywhere. Walking through the initial mess was hard enough but once in a while, a column of books would lose balance and fall to the ground, potentially covering unwary visitors. I could swear that I must have seen a skeleton under a pile. Oh well, that's how mortals are.

"Welcome to the library. I'm sure the first thing to do to start your research is to check with the librarian. He can help us find a book you want." Maka led me through the mess, not minding at all the apparent disorder. "How many times have you been here?" I had the urge to ask.

"Oh just about every single day….She's always looking for a new weapon for her….you know…." Soul rubbed his head as if he was remembering bad memories. Can't blame him.

The librarian had over-sized cube fingers, along with a small moustache, and walked in a robotic fashion, but I guess on this 'Earth' anything is possible. The librarian immediately recognized as he gave a respectful bow to her and then to me."Hello, Ms Albarn, honored to see that you are still our most regular of visitors. May I present you a list of finest and hardest books that have just came in?" Mortals are served first, huh?

I mentally slapped myself. In the name of Dad, I got to stop thinking like that.

"No thanks. I'm just guiding a new student here. He wants some books on some research he is doing."

"New student and already researching? My my you are a hardworking fellow." The man smiled at me. I glared back. "So I can assume you are 1-star, yes? That will give you access to the first level of the library…."

"Wait…1 star?"

"Oh sorry, I forgot to mention." Maka answered. "We are categorized into 1-star, 2-star and 3-star meisters based on our ability. Most of us are 1-stars, while some people are 2-star. 3-stars are usually teachers. 1-star gets to the 1st level….."

"2-star to second, 3-star to third. No shit, Sherlock." I interrupted. So I guess I'm part of the common rabble. Slap again.

"I guess I'm a bit too forgetful that people can probably figure it out. Ha ha ha…" Maka seemed to have taken it as a joke. Which I clearly did not make. God…

"So...what? I just go up and ask him? And you guys are what? Gonna just sit with me and wait till I'm done?"

"Nah, don't worry. I also need to do some reading while Soul here got to go and see Stein about some detention lessons."

Soul blinked once, and then twice more. "Huh? Was I? When...How...Why...Shit! Catch you guys later!" I watched, amused, as the white-haired boy rushed off.

"Will he live?"

"Probably not."

An awkward silence as we probably brood over what punishment Soul could get. The teacher will probably dissect him when they meet.

"So how may I help you?" The librarian broke in and I was a bit taken by surprise. In our distraction, I had forgotten to think about what sort of books I wanted.

"Erm….erm…." I stammered for a while as I tried to come up with a decent request. "How about...books on Chaos? Do you have them?"

"Chaos? Oh, you mean Chaos theory?" Chaos theory? I've no time for science now!

"I mean literally Chaos. Cha-os with a capital C and no other words. Like gods or astronomical beings, that sort of mythology. Got that?"

"Well….let me remember…." Remember? The librarian can remember every book in this library? Well I'm surprised . For a mortal, such a keen memory is...good, to say the least. I suddenly felt my growing impatience go away, knowing that a mortal here is at least worthy of my time.

"Ah yes! In greek mythology, there is a god called Chaos….And we also have Chaos of Madness. Let me get the books for you."

The librarian quickly retreated into the dark tunnel behind him. How long is going to take? This library could take hours to search through.

But to my pleasant surprise, the librarian was back by a minute and in his somewhat robotic-like hands were held two books, both of tolerable size, I guess.

**Twenty minutes later,**

Just 20 minutes putting my head into the books and I'm already dead bored. I knew that I wasn't as booky as my brother, but I never expected to be this drastic.

I was into the first book. The Chaos of Madness. It was basically talking about the Kishin, the apparent super-human god of madness that can be achieved by absorbing enough human souls. But there were parts that I was intrigued. Maka herself seemed to be quite knowledgeable of the subject of the Kishin and she described how she got to know Asura, the first Kishin. But she never quite told me what happened to him. When I did try to pursue that, the mortal clammed up. Okay, sensitive topic.

That said, I read on and came upon a small little chapter titled:" The Madness of Chaos." The whole chapter was more theoretical than actually historical. The author gave his theory about how Asura wasn't the first Kishin and that something else spurred him from being a powerful warrior into a dark god of madness.

It sure sounded like something Sheogorath would do but considering the prince of madness is probably a few thousand light-years away, I doubt it.

The author had a rather interesting theory. I admit that much. But the rest was more like superstitious scribbling rather than an actual theory. I left the book to one side, making sure it doesn't get confused in the messy pile beside the table. "Is there a cleaner in this place?" I couldn't help but ask. "Over there…." I turned and looked at Maka's pointed direction. Then I sweat-dropped.

Right there on top of the highest mountain was the ninja boy Black Star. He was laughing so hysterically that I had no idea how I managed to miss him. Instead of cleaning up, the boy was randomly picking up comics and throwing them to the ground after reading them.

"And why is he the cleaner?"

"Detention duty…"

"Shouldn't someone watch him?"

"No one really wants to."

"I see…" Both of us sighed as we ignored Black Star for the rest of our stay. I opened the Greek mythology book. It was not thick, thank goodness for that. Titled simply as "Chaos", I was pretty sure I found what I needed.

A few minutes later, my gut feeling held me through. The Greeks described Chaos as the abyss, as the formless and void state preceding the creation of the universe. In other words, Chaos was indeed a phenomenon.

There were of course some mistakes, a miserable flaw of the mortals. Chaos was also described as the primodial god that looked over the universe and the first of all Gods and Titans. I was rather offended for these mortals to lump us together with him but I guess such tiny beings can't possibly comprehend him.

However, my hopes of simply smashing Chaos when I meet him were drowned as I speed-read on and chanced upon a sentence describing Chaos as the true foundation of reality. If human works can be trusted, basically, I destroy Chaos, reality goes bye-bye. "He can't possibly be that powerful…" I was slightly apprehensive and wondered whether the humans made a mistake.

"Huh? Who?" Maka suddenly hear me talking my mind and was curious.

"Oh nothing….Just talking about the Greek's exaggeration about this 'god' Chaos.." I showed her. She took a few seconds to read it through. Probably the fastest time I've seen a mortal read.

"Why are you researching on him? None of the school teachers would be interested in this stuff." She asked me.

Nice job breaking it, Alduin...

"Well….uh….you see…." I was tongue-tied. Should I tell her the truth? Or should I lie? Would she even believe the truth? Can she, a mortal, even understand?

"Besides, you said that you would tell me how your Voice works, remember? C'mon out with it. I'm curious."

"You…probably wouldn't believe me…"

"Try me!"

Okay, I got to hand it to her; the girl's spunk was impressive, but I was kind of hesitant to tell her anything at all. I knew I can't keep on hiding and so with a gasp of resignation, I finally threw away my doubt and began.

**Ten minutes later….**

"Wow…wow….that's kinda insane…wow" Maka sat there, dumbfounded. See that! I knew she wouldn't understand.

But she did.

"So you met a dragon? And he taught how to use your voice to create those powerful attacks? By teaching you his ancient language and letting you drink his blood? And then in return he asked you to research on this 'Chaos'?" Okay, maybe it took a little while to sink into her head, despite the intellectual she is.

Hey, don't look at me like that! Well, I did tell her a half-truth. My father was a dragon and he did taught me how to use my voice. As for the drinking blood part, I guess that was when my dad gave me some of his blood to turn me into a God of Time.

"It's…incredible. I mean…you met a dragon. A real live dragon. And Chaos? Why Chaos? Is he talking about the Kishin?"

"No he is not." I kept my cool, trying to play along. "He says that Chaos is returning. And so I needed research to stop him."

"If not Asura, then who is this Chaos? Are you sure about Chaos? I can believe a dragon but something even more powerful than Asura? I mean Asura is capable of bringing chaos to the world. Doesn't that fit the quote "Chaos is returning."" Now the girl seems frightened about something. And I'm getting annoyed trying to convince her.

"Look here, girl…I have travelled all the way here just to research about something that I can just ASK you about! I'm DEAD sure that your lovely ASURA won't be coming back! You know, in Nirn, when there's a threat…." I swallowed my tongue. "Nirn?" Too late. Maka caught it.

"I mean, Earth. Earth."

"No, I'm sure you said Nirn...Alduin, are you from somewhere else?" Yep, Maka was nearly on to me. As she glance at me while remaining deep in thought, I was stuck in a corner, like a rat waiting frightfully as the cat and my impending doom was inching closer with each fleeting second. I was not prepared for my tongue to slip so easily and I'm sure I was seconds away before being labelled with a big fat sticker saying "Alien". Before long, I might find myself being pulled on at my skin, as if I was wearing a second skin for disguise. Hey, at least she can't possibly figure out that I am a Go - Nope, not helping!

As I juggled with two plans to either make a run for it or insist that I said "Earth" and not "Nirn", a familiar bellow suddenly caught my ear for no good reason. "BOORRING!" Black Star seemed to have just picked up a book from the hill he was king of and clearly not interested in it, coincidentally threw it our way. As the book landed a few feet away with a thud, Maka, still waiting for my answer, seemed to pay no attention to it but I did.

The title was: _The Time Machine By H.G. Wells _(Whoever he is, I owe him a drink.).

"Well?"

"I….I…um….uh…oh hell with it." I decided to stop hiding. "Just don't tell anyone okay? I am from the future. In the future we call Earth Nirn. I am here on a mission to stop Chaos. The void." Okay well maybe I wasn't exactly 'stop hiding' but at least it brought a look of realization on Maka's face.

"You are from the future!" "SHHHH!" I quickly silenced her. "Are you mad? I told you just now to not tell anybody." "Sorry…" She whispered back. Black Star was still there laughing, effectively drowning out any possibility of us being overhead.

Just keep laughing ninja boy.


	10. Alduin 9

"So what do I look like? Is Soul a pianist? Do I become a 3-star meister? Is Black Star some sort of god-killer? How about Kid? Did he replace his father?"

Alduin felt an anger mark formed on his head as Maka barraged him with a eruption of questions and Soul, who Maka insisted that he should know, was just sitting there waiting for his turn.

"I'm from the future, alright! So if you know anything from the future, you will probably change it in some insanely horrific way. So stop asking me about that!" Alduin roared at Maka. This "I'm from the future" act might be something he will regret for sure.

"All I can tell you is that Chaos will destroy the universe in the future. So unless you stop him, there is no future. The dragon who gave me the power of the Voice gave this mission in exchange."

"So you're here now and we know about Chaos. See the future is changed already." Soul smugly stated. "So we don't need to worry."

"You mortals always think that you know everything, don't you?" Alduin was now fully annoyed. "Chaos will crush you like a bug and then use your blood as toothpaste. Even if you do know he is coming, that won't stop him."

"Wait a minute….who are you calling mortals?" Soul wanted to strangle Alduin's neck but when Alduin is angered, no one is allowed to touch him. With one swift movement, Alduin did a judo throw and flipped Soul right off his feet and onto the floor. "_Sahlo….._" He mocked as Maka ran up to Soul.

"Why did you do that for?" Maka grabbed her book but Alduin grabbed her wrist instead. He was nose-to-nose with her and his piercing gaze frightened her to drop the book.

"I am fucking serious…."

Alduin let her go and Maka quickly supported Soul back up. Alduin sat on the chair, rubbing his head in frustration. As he calmed down, he gazed at Soul and Maka, who nodded and sat with him, willing to listen to what he has to say.

"Finally…..Look I need to get the artifact that Death is putting up as an award."

"You mean, the contest award? I've heard that the artifact is just a stupid hourglass." Soul laid back on his chair, precariously balancing it.

"Hourglass? It can't be….." Alduin felt his mind race back to when he saw his father in human form. Akatosh was an old gray-haired wise man with weathered eyes and a noble stance. He would dress in the clothes of a priest.

And in his hands was an hourglass. One that he would turn at the rise and fall of ages.

"WHAT THE HECK!"

Alduin was disrupted by sudden shout as Soul and Maka gawked at a purple-blue spectral orb forming on the table. As quickly as it had came, the orb dispersed, revealing an bag.

On it was a note:

_You are right indeed. And I think these will be useful._

_-P from the future_

"Oh brother….." Alduin sighed as he took the note. "Looks like you are playing along with this future huh?" Alduin thought as Maka opened the bag.

"You won't believe this…." Maka looked down into the bag. "This is a bag containing hammerspace! Look!" Maka pulled out a giant steel shield that would have clearly broken a normal bag. The shield had the logo of a dragon on it and was of a kite design. "A shield?" Alduin questioned his brother's choice of arms. Personally, he was more of a "oh my god I'm a fiery dragon" type of fighter. But Alduin guessed he had no choice.

As he picked up the shield, testing in one hand, Alduin noticed a glowing inscription on the back. "Oh you smart-ass son of a bitch!" Alduin praised his brother. The inscription was Alduin's most used word. "Yol….." He whispered and sure enough the inscription responded as if enveloped him in glowing tendrils of light.

"And we have...candles?" Maka and Soul were completely oblivious to what just happened and Alduin noticed the candles. "Pass them to me. It's just to test a new power."

Placing then neatly on the table, Alduin let himself relax naturally. Then focusing on a single point, Alduin whispered:"Yol…" True enough a small focused stream of dragon fire burst from his mouth and ignited the candles, causing both Soul and Maka to gasp.

As they burnt, Alduin heard the whispering within the candle smoke. Yes, he was correct. Those were whispering candles. The language was in the Dragon language but Alduin willingly translated it for Maka and Soul, who managed to hear the whisperings too.

"Well done, young one. You have indeed inherited the Thu'um well. But I will be unable to give you any more. Instead, the words have travelled to Earth itself, waiting for you to retrieve them, to use them. As a final parting gift and a weapon to use against the rising Chaos, I impart the Shield of Paarthurnax to you."

"Calling me a young one huh, little brother?" Alduin thought as the candles fully burnt out and the smoke enveloped the shield in a holy mist. Then as if it was dragonskin itself, scales began to form on the shield itself as the weapon compressed, becoming smaller and smaller, before turning into a band of dragonscales.

"What the heck? The shield just turned tiny." Soul exclaimed . Alduin put the band on his left wrist. On the scales were inscribed another word,_ Spaan. _ In other words, shield. "What does it do?" Maka asked as she and Soul looked on. "This." Alduin stated. "Spaan…" The band exploded into the same dragonscale shield as before and another 'Spaan' made it return to its band form.

"Woah, now you are awesome!" Soul patted Alduin's back but a glare caused him to recoil away. "So what do we do? Wait a month for the contest to the hourglass?" Maka inquired.

"No, we don't wait. Waiting will surely get us killed. I need to find the other words and understand your world better. I guess I have no choice but will you help me?"

"Of course, you idiot. You took a big risk trusting us with your mission so I'm honoured that you think we can help. How about this? We start with a practice session tomorrow. Against Black Star you obviously prevailed with your voice but can you match us without it?"

"You want me to fight you without my voice? I rather die than do that."

"C'mon, bro! Your voice is powerful but your form of fighting is bringing you down. You just need some practice. Trust Maka. She's great at training people."

"Are you sure?"

"110% sure."


	11. Alduin 10

"I'm in a dream again, aren't I, brother?" Alduin sat up and finding himself on the same floating rock in his previous dream. However, the cloud mass had disappeared and instead the rock floated alone, surrounded by never-ending space.

"I clearly remember falling into bed so this must be one." Alduin rubbed his head as the stars around him began to converge and materialize into the dragon he knew as his brother. "Liked my gift?" Paarthurnax sat down beside Alduin, or rather lie down, for a dragon can't really sit.

Alduin looked at his left wrist and on it was the bracelet, with its dragonscales a similiar hue to that of Paarthurnax's. "Would be much better with a 'Sword of Paarthurnax' or 'Axe of Paarthurnax'." Paarthurnax laughed at his opinion. "Maybe, maybe….but that shield, even as a bracelet, can protect you from most threats. Take my word for it, brother," Paarthurnax paused for a while, his claws scrapping the ground.

"Did you really have to lie to them, brother?"

"Why should I care? We gods have always been manipulating and lying to the mortals since the birth of Nirn. Why should I change that now?"

"But you're not a god anymore. You should remember that, Alduin."

"All the more reason not to tell them the truth. Do you think if I say that I'm a god, will they look at this human body and believe it? I think not."

"I understand. But it saddens me to think that girl actually believes that you took a risk by trusting her, while in actual fact you were lying to her very face."

"It's only a half-lie….now you are getting paranoid….If you think you can do better then why the hell did you send me?"

"Fine fine I'll play along with you, brother." Paarthurnax sighed as he and Alduin looked up into the unknown expanse.

It has been a long time since the brothers had actually did this together.

"How long do we have?" Alduin could not help but ask, his voice with a tinge of hopelessness.

"Dad and the others are already trying their best stopping Chaos but I don't know. With matters regarding Chaos, even a god has no way to tell."

"And the dreams?"

"They will come, don't worry. But it's best you listen to your friend Maka and practice your human body. You will need it."

"She's not my friend. Mortals don't deserve to be our friends." Alduin stated bluntly as he looked down the edge of the rock, down into the never-ending pit of darkness.

Paarthurnax walked up to his side and gazed down too. "It's frightening, isn't it? Looking below from a high, knowing full well that you have the world at your fingertips but yet whatever you do, the world will just fight back. Reminds you and me why you betrayed Dad."

"I never betrayed him. It was the only way."

"I know, older brother."

"You DON'T KNOW, Paarthurnax! You are not a GOD of TIME!" Alduin roared in rage at Paarthurnax's empathy. "Whenever I looked from the halls into Skyrim, all I could see was death, conflict, poverty and war. The stench of the conflicts would reach up to me and nearly suffocate me. And yet, Dad simply told me that time would heal everything. That I should be patient. That the humans can do without our interference. And I WAITED! I WAITED 5 MILLENIUMS looking down from above and yet the humans never changed. Sure, a period of peace would pop up once in a while but the humans would find every conceivable way to bring back war!"

"Do you know how sorry-looking the Hall of Divines looked then?"

"Yes I do, Alduin, but…"

"The revolting stench and the rage from the humans warping our Hall, our Hall and the harsh environments I saw my immortal brothers work in. I tried to push people with a bit of guidance here and there but it never worked! And then look at the Oblivion Crisis. Humans wanting to bring terror to the world by bringing back a Daedric Prince? And when I saw Dad having to nearly lose his LIFE sending back Mehrunes Dagon, I decided enough was enough!"

"Then you took on the destruction aspect of Time."

"Yes…I decided to do what I thought was right. I would start with Skyrim and then reunite the whole of Nirn, ridding the world of the foul stench of human-driven conflicts and freeing our brotehrs from the work and toil they had to do keeping the world in balance."

"But you changed your plans….because Dad told you to." Alduin nodded at Paarthurnax's statement.

"I started the first Dragon uprising 200 years ago, to enforce my image as a villain and a threat to all beings. And with your help, we managed to convince one of the human's great warriors Felldir the Old to get the Elder scroll and send me forward 200 years. Why? Because I wanted to breed a hero. A hero that could only appear 200 years later. A hero that could end the stubborn divisions between the humans and bridge the way to endless peace."

"The Dovahkin…" Paarthurnax sighed. He knew the part of the plan that had gone terribly wrong. He spoke as Alduin went quiet too. "But 200 years in the fabric of time itself was too much for you, brother, wasn't it? It drove you mad, made you lose your personality and turned you into a true monster."

Alduin grimaced, remembering his fragmented state of mind during the time of the Dragonborn. Remembering no matter how many times he yelled, he could not control his body and mind.

"But you still held on to the most important thing. Deeply etched into your heart was the plan, still having its influence on you. You could have blasted the Dovahkin to smithereens on many occasions but something inside you held you back. Even in the final battle, you were going easy on the Dovahkin, weren't you? I know you Alduin. You still have the same loyalty to the gods and righteousness that made you who you are." Paarthurnax gave a friendly jab at Alduin's chest.

But Alduin pushed it away, shrugging off his praises. "Don't fool yourself, Paarthurnax. I'm an entity of evil and destruction now. These…qualities that you describe have been lost in the passing of time. But…tell me…" Alduin faced his brother again, the two on opposite sides of the floating land, "..did the plan succeeded?"

The dragon, though it is hard to express with a dragon's face, had the edge of his lips tilitng up a bit. "Do us proud, Alduin, defeat Chaos and you will be able to see it for yourself."

Aduin covered his eyes asPaarthurnax began to glow before dispersing into the same stars that began their long pilgrimage into space. But not before one went sailing right for Alduin's head.

"Hah!" Alduin jolted up as he was once again in his bed. Breathing heavily and deeply, Alduin looked out of the window and noticed a familiar white-hair boy being kicked out of the adjacent window, followed by a cat's meow and a roar with the ferociousness of a dragon. "SOUUUULLLLL YOU PEDOPHILE!"

"Damn noisy humans..."


	12. Alduin 11

"Welcome to the DWMA dojo."

Alduin looked around at the place that Maka and Soul had brought him to. It was completely made of wood, every pillar, every wall, every door. As for windows, instead of glass, a weird paper-like fabric gives limited view in and out of the dojo. The floor, while wooden, was covered by a soft green fabric that felt ticklish against his bare feet. It felt awkward to be in a place that one _Yol _could easily burn down.

"It's the break days for school but we are still allowed to use the school equipment." Maka was rummaging through a weapon stand, while Soul was lying on the floor slacking. "The dojo is mainly for close combat training, so no guns and definitely no Voices!" She warned as she picked up a sword hilt, with what looked like a cylindrincal wooden pole as its blade.

"Take this!" Alduin struggled to catch the bokken Maka threw his way, his reflexes still unrefined. "Now we are gonna start some sparring. Soul?" Maka kicked Soul in the gut, knocking the breath out of him. "Argh! Okay..." Soul was enveloped by the same white light as Tsubaki as his hand morphed into a blade and the rest of his body turned into a long metal pole. In short, a scythe. Maka grabbed and twirled it around before holding it such that the blade was right in front of her and was at the lower end.

Alduin shuffled unsteadily. He had seen many a warrior grasp a sword but seeing is much more different than doing. His grasp was shifting constantly and he could barely picture the blade he was holding. "Wait a second!" Alduin noticed something.

"You have a freaking scythe while all I have is this wooden sword. That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair!" Maka grinned as she struck Alduin with the blunt end of the scythe. Stepping back clutching his side in pain, Alduin quickly intercepted another strike. The blade, on collision, shook in his hand and he could barely keep it still. As he attempted to control his bokken, Maka gave a quick punch in the jaw before trapping him in between the blade and the pole.

"You are just beating me up," Alduin spat as Maka threw him to one side. As he skidded trying to get his footing, Alduin barely rolled out of a vertical sweep. "My turn!" Alduin gave a low kick, aiming at Maka's leg.

"Shirk!" Alduin gasped as his leg was stopped by a protruding arm from the Scythe. In retaliation, Maka gave a twin kick in his chest area and Alduin fell backwards, unable to catch his breath.

"This is some lesson!" he thought as he rushed Maka again, this time aiming her head. But a quick duck and another punch sent him recoiling again.

"Haaa...ha...haa..." Alduin was now sweaty all over and his body was getting worn out by the constant abuse. Now the Voice sounds very tempting. But Alduin gritted his teeth, shaking himself out of the temptation and began his assault once more.

Alduin this time locked weapons with Maka, trying to push her back with what he though was his superior strength. But the girl was physically excellent too and soon they were at a standstill. Then, she grabbed Alduin's left arm and then using her weight, swung to his back and giving a round house kick in the back of his head.

"Argh!" He tried to shake off the head ache but Maka won't have it. Throwing him up by the collar, Maka executed a series of blunt strikes and kicks before finally elbowing him. All the while, Alduin could barely react, as his mind was overwhelmed by the impact and pain brought on by the combo.

Falling to the ground again, Alduin attempted to get up in vain. Everytime he tried to push himself up, his arms failed and his face would smack into the floor again.

Breath fast and shallow, Alduin turned his head as Maka got nearer. "Get up, Alduin! This is your best shot?" She taunted him.

A mortal taunting him? Alduin was angered by the sorry situation he was in. All he needed was to match her in physical reflexes but that would take months or years to develop. He needs some way to get quicker, faster. To fight her at a more level playing field.

Alduin's blurred vision then focused on the wooden wall nearest to him. Then he squinted his eyes, making sure he was looking correctly. Is that...?

Maka looked over Alduin's beaten body and sighed. "How can you hope to stop even Asura with those reflexes?" She kneeled beside him, poking him to make sure he is alright. "C'mon get up. You okay?"

Swoop! Maka dodged a rising punch from Alduin as she jumped back from him. His body was clearly exhausted and beaten. But the boy's black eyes had the flame of triumph in them.

"What did you...?" Maka was then punched in the gut by Alduin, who had attained an incredible blinding speed. Parrying his next blow, she struck at his side. But instead, he grabbed the end with lightning reflexes and then like a discus thrower, began swinging Maka and Soul around. As he let go, Maka felt a wind blow over her and then was kicked from above by Alduin.

"I'm not done YET!" She yelled as she began a combo of fast strikes and slashes. But the boy, his face now indifferent and serious, dodged and blocked every single move before returning a barrage of sword slashes and kicks.

Stepping back, Maka used Soul as a support but Alduin soon finished it. Activating his shield, Alduin used the explosive expansion to give a tremendous shield-bash right into Maka's face. Her knees buckling, the girl fell to the floor, looking back at the figure looming over her. At first, she was afraid that Alduin might continue but her fears were allayed as Alduin sat down beside her. Soul quickly reverted back and grabbed Alduin by the collar.

"What the hell was that for, man? Were you trying to kill Maka?"

"I should ask you the same question..." Alduin retorted as Soul growled at him ferociously.

"Enough!"

BANG! Soul fell backwards as a book-shaped indent appeared on his head. "Uhhh..." He groaned in pain. Alduin glared back at Maka, who sat up. Her uniform was torn and tattered and her hair had lost its bands, letting it flow down to her shoulder.

"You could have killed me..." Alduin snapped at Maka, who had an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry. I just got a little carried away."

"Yeh...you seem have a problem with that." Alduin huffed as he threw the wooden sword, now in battered and the verge of breaking, to one side.

"And you seem to have a problem to relax. I said I was sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, okay? You think you just say sorry and the whole world would forgive you?"

"Well you are not the whole world. You are a friend. Friends should forgive each other, right?"

"Friend?" Alduin gave a death-stare at her but she didn't seem to get it, instead smiling back at him. "Besides, how did you turn the tables on me so fast?"

"_Tiid..."_

"Huh?"

"Look over there." Maka and Soul, who finally regained consciousness, turned to Alduin's pointing. He was pointing at a wooden wall. But on that wall, though hard to see, were weird markings. "Another shout? Hey, then you broken the rules!" Soul roared at Alduin but the boy suddenly appeared behind Soul, slamming him to the ground.

"I didn't break the rules. I used a shout, yes, but I beaten Maka using my physical attacks."

"What shout was that?" Maka was now curious as she helped the cringing Soul up.

"The Shout that can slow Time..."

"Slow time? Incredible...You can manipulate time?"

"With the shout yes. And..." Alduin went silent. "When I was a god..." he thought in the deep depths of his mind.

"Anyway, I should go back...I'm sorry...for the trouble I cause..." Maka limped off, with Soul at her shoulders. As he looked on at the girl, he felt a feeling creeping inside him. A feeling he couldn't shake off.

"Hey wait!" Alduin could not help but feel bad. He might not like being taunted by a mortal but then again he is mortal now. Maka stepped back as he lifted Soul onto his shoulder. The boy was heavy but Alduin felt good.

"Let me help you two."


	13. Extras: Soul and Maka

BIO TIME!

Maka and Soul

Maka

**Name:** Maka Albarn

**Aliases:** Scythe Meister

**Race:** Human

**Position:** DWMA Student and 1-star Meister

**Biography:**

Maka is a girl that Alduin meets up and forges a friendship with. She has agreed to help Alduin with his Chaos problem, under a lie that he was a guy from the future. Maka has shown to have fought Asura but there is no indication in what had happened.

Maka is a bookworm. She is always found with a book around and she is also a model student of the DWMA. She is also very well-known for the Maka Chop, a book version of the Shinigami Chop.

**Personality:**

She is highly competitive in terms of academics, especially during exams. However, Maka is now a bit less focused these days, and she sometimes gets carried away.

Maka is also easily angered, especially by her partner Soul. Beyond that, she is kind-hearted and trusting. But she is more noted for her courage and ability to stay strong in the face of madness.

**Powers:**

**Courage** – Maka's defining feature is her courage to tackle madness and all things scary. It is something not inherently within her but instead was forged during her journey with the Soul eater gang.

**Physical and Battle prowess** – Demonstrated before. Maka is in the peak of human performance. She is so strong and fast that she could hit opponents mid-air and also boasts a above average endurance.

**Scythe mastery – **While she has yet to show much of this, Maka as a scythe meister has mastery over the Scythe weapon.

**Resonance** – Maka is adept in the soul wavelength resonance ability, granting her access to her trademark finishers Witch Hunter and Genie Hunter.

**Anti-magic – **A unique wavelength that grants her the ability to repel and destroy evil. The wavelength also allows her to use her mother's skill Genie Hunter.

Soul

**Name:** Soul Eater Evans

**Aliases:** Scythe

**Race:** Human/ Weapon

**Position:** DWMA Student and 1-star Weapon

**Biography:**

Soul Is Maka's scythe and battle partner. He is a slacker most of the time but he is loyal and dedicated to Maka. He is also good friends with Black Star due to their Slacker Status. In academics, Soul is nowhere near Maka's ingenuity and so he usually cheats during tests.

Despite these shortcomings, Soul is one of the rare few willing to risk their lives for others. He has demonstrated this many times but leads to Maka worrying about him sometimes.

**Personality:**

Soul is laid-back and lazy. He also has a cool complex bordering on arrogance but Maka's Maka Chop keeps this in check. But when Maka is in danger, Soul is usually the first to dive in to try and save her. Soul is also loyal and friendly to other people, especially to Maka. Some say he might actually have feelings for her.

He is rude and naïve at time but he has shown himself to be a great ally in battle. Regarding Alduin, Soul is unsure and a bit annoyed that Maka is suddenly helping him. He is also afraid that Alduin might be tricking them and thus he is cautious when Alduin is near Maka.

**Powers:**

**Physical and Battle prowess** – Soul has an incredible endurance and resistance to wounds. He has the scars to prove them.

**Scythe weapon – **Soul as a scythe is generally hard to injure in his weapon form but some weapons (*cough*...Scream resonance..*cough*) can hurt him severely.

**Resonance** – Soul is adept in the soul wavelength resonance ability with Maka, allowing them to work as an efficient team and when the need calls for it, activate the Hunters.

**Piano expertise – **When the Soul Eater gang is together, Soul is key in allowing an effective Chain Resonance. His piano experience allows him to use music to synchronize and coordinate the entire team, making them a deadly force to deal with.


	14. Alduin 12

"Oooof..." Alduin and Maka slowly placed Soul into his bed, the white-haired weapon still unconscious from Alduin's last attack.

"Thanks..." Maka whispered to Alduin hesitantly as she exited Soul's room. It was that of a standard teenage boy but the rubbish bin seems to have an excess of bloody tissues. Probably thanks to their now missing feline resident.

Maka, her leg hurt, limped for a short while before she suddenly tripped. Bang! Alduin turned to see her prone on the floor. "Hey!" He rushed up to her side.

**5 minutes later,**

"You shouldn't have just kept quiet..." Alduin sighed as he dabbed the now bleeding wound on Maka's knee with some anit-bacterial cotton. "I thought you would be annoyed," Maka said.

"Annoyed? Why?"

"Well it seemed that you think we are slowing us down...And that you don't really like us..."

"Was I that obvious?" Alduin looked down as he tried to avoid Maka's gaze.

"I'm just very stressed with all this Chaos and Universe-ending mumbo-jumbo. And that you were very nearly close to kill me during training. It just got on my nerves..."

"I'm sorry. Truly. I was just..."

"Hush...I know. You were carried away. I guess in battle myself I was also never the type to actually think before I leap." Alduin remembered his matches with the Dovahkiin. In those fights, with his fragmented state of mind then, he was more of a mindless brutal creature than a careful experienced dragon.

"It just kind of flows naturally, doesn't it? But it makes me wonder whether I can do anything else once I grow up?"

"You mean being more than a meister? A bit early to think about your future with Chaos around."

"I mean if we do beat Chaos. I just wonder what if I want to be more than a meister."

"How about teaching at the academy? Or librarian? Or maybe be a coach on a new Maka Chop Sport?"

"Hahaha...Last one is unlikely. But I feel that I can do more. When the world is peaceful and good, won't the meisters become obsolete?"

"I doubt it. A peaceful and good world is the one being obsolete." Alduin looked down, his face grim. "The world is always torn apart by wars and conflicts. Weapons, soldiers, threats will never be lost. In the history of mankind, I've personally seen civilizations rise and fall. And while knowledge and all the achievments of peace are lost, the weapons and methods of war will always come back."

Maka looked at Alduin as he spoke. The boy was speaking as if he had grown tired of this in some way and that he had seen this cycle over and over again. "What do you mean personally?" Maka caught on.

Cursing his slip of tongue, Alduin quickly covered up. "I mean when I was sent back in time. During the time travel process I got to see the history of men fast-forwarded. The cycle was made so obvious and apparent then."

"Oh. I guess time-travel isn't so fun after all..." Maka cringed as Aldous applied more of the stinging antibacterial to her wound. "But we meisters are protectors, not soldiers or weapons. You shouldn't lump us with them..."

"Oh really? You told me meisters are meant to take away the souls of the Evil humans and prevent the Kishin, right? But the evil humans, they were humans right?" The last statement made Maka stop short of a retort.

"Fellow humans...And you can just assume that you can pass off that ex-human soul as a pre-Kishin soul. And if I remember correctly from my research, you need 99 pre-kishin souls and 1 witch soul to make Soul into a Death-scythe. So everytime you kill a ex-human, a so-called evil human, do you think 'ooh I just got my number whatever soul to make my partner a death scythe' and just throw the life you take as a mere method to pass a test?"

"But they are evil...If we didn't stop them they would have killed more people..."

"That is correct. I admit that you protected people. But were you doing it for the people? Or for the school test?"

"Huh?" Maka, eyes widened, sank her head as she realized Alduin's meaning.

"I was...I was..." Alduin looked on at the girl as tears begin to well up in her eyes. "I guess when you are mortal, no matter how strong you are, you will always break down when your entire life is being questioned..." Alduin relaxed his stern face and patted Maka on the back. "Just forget it..." He stated nonchalantly. He wasn't very good at apologizing to mortals.

"What? Now you tell me to forget? You told me all those things and now want to make me FORGET?" Maka suddenly gave an outburst and before Alduin could react, he was banged in the head by a book. As he got up, he saw Maka retreating into her bedroom.

"Ah she'll be fine..." he assured himself with some difficulty as he tried to block out the weeping and crying behind Maka's bedroom door.

"Shouldn't you go to her?"

"Huh?" Alduin turned to see a white-haired male standing right across the table. At first he thought it was Soul but then the male had a somewhat transparent look to him and the eyes were familiar-looking. Too familiar-looking.

"Paar...Paarthurnax?" Alduin gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just watching you...This is not the real me. See?" Paarthurnax moved his hand to the tabletop and suddenly the hand sunk through the table. A hologram. "That girl looked distraught. Can't you comfort her a little bit better?"

"I've tried my best, brother. I helped them, talked to them, why I even helped her clean her wound!" Alduin threw the bloody cotton into a rubbish bin and packed the first aid kit. "That's all?"

"That's all! Are you serious, Paarthurnax? What do you want me to do? Fall in love with them?"

"No no no...Acting less...god-like would be a good start...You just made her question her entire school life...Don't you feel that you are a bit harsh?"

"The humans have always bounced back, brother. She will too."

"And you will just leave at that? Brother, you are supposed to have her as an ally. At this state, she can't help you."

"Oh so now you are using her."

"Wha-?"

"You are only worried about her ability to help. Don't you, Paarthurnax? You don't really care about the mortals, do you? Just like myself."

"Alduin...Don't manipulate my words against me. I looked at the girl's mind. She is a terrible, terrible state."

"Just like myself, huh?"

"Alduin?"

"She questions her own existence. Just like myself. When I saw how I couldn't do anything to be a good god for the mortals on Nirn, I frequently wondered why I was even a god of time. It made me wonder what does a god of Time do."

"So you can empathize with her. Then just go and help her."

"No."

"No?"

"When one questions him or herself, the process is something one must take alone. Just like myself, Maka must solve this problem herself."

"But you created it-"

"I know I created it. But if I interfere, I will make it worse." Alduin placed the first-aid kit back into the cupboard. "Tell me the truth, Paar. Do you really care for the humans or do you see them as mere tools?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You said yourself. We must understand this world to beat Chaos."

"You mean, **you** must under.."

"Looks like I got my answer. You don't..." Alduin sighed. "Now wait a second here." Paarthurnax put his hands against his hips.

"Tell me. What is really happening in Skyrim? The plan didn't work, didn't it?" Alduin turned to meet his brother's glare.

"That smile before. In the dream. It wasn't because the plan succeeded. It's because you somehow managed to turn the Dovahkiin into a tool, just like the rest."

"Now look here, _brother ..._" Paarthurnax jabbed at Alduin with his hologram finger. "The humans did too much harm to Dad. You know that full well."

"Never two of anything? Those words were from Dad when we were just created. It was a saying that we should cherish what was lost and never take anything for granted."

"That is correct. And hence we can't take Dad for granted. We must protect, even if it means sacrificing the humans..." Alduin was now unnerved by the smile on Paarthurnax's face.

"What are you saying, Paar?"

"The hourglass...It will give you back your power. The power that gave you your name. The World Eater. You will take the age of the entirety of the human race from both planets and then use it on Chaos. That will weaken him to a point that we can destroy him..."

"But...that's insane...Paar...That will destroy all the mortals...Sure I don't like them but to kill them outright?"

"Do not worry. A new generation of mortals will replace them. And the gods will remain alive. Think about it. You and I. We will be hailed as heroes among the gods. And Dad will surely see you in a new light."

"A new light of hatred and disgrace. You know Dad loves the mortals more than anything. If we do this, it is akin to rebelling against him. You understand the consequences, don't you Paar? You used me. You used me to warp the initial plan into what you wanted. So what happened to the Dovahkiin?"

"Oh...After he got the hourglass sand for me...I gave him a new home to stay in..." Paarthurnax smiled maliciously as he massaged his stomach.

"Damn you!" Alduin grabbed at Paarthurnax, but of course he fell through the hologram and onto the floor. "Remember that the gods'and Dad's survival rest upon your shoulders. Oh and don't try to warn the girl. Like you said, she won't believe that a mere mortal boy would be a god. Toodooolooo."

"Get back here!" Alduin rushed at Paarthurnaz again but the hologram disappeared as he caught thin air and once again fell to the ground.

"Damn you, Paar!"

Alduin's voice resounded through the entire city and from the insides of the Death Room, Death looked up as he saw the huge Soul around the world began to grow.

"What in the world is happening?"

**So now twist. Paarthurnax is not so goody goody dragon and now Alduin knows the real plan to beat Chaos. Now Alduin is trapped to either help his father and godly family survive or do what his father would want him and save the humans at the risk of total Chaos.**

**Please review.**

**Next up: Chapter 13 and Paarthurnax bio!**


	15. Alduin 13

Alduin gazed at the bracelet as he laid down on bed. Through the window, the ever crescent smiling moon, with blood flowing down its unnerving grin, shone lunar light onto the scales, reflecting on the rough shiny suface.

"Shield of Paarthrnax...as if..." Alduin threw the bracelet to the sidetable and tried to sleep. But when he laid his head on the pillow, a familiar pressing feeling was over his wrist. "Damn you, Paar..." Alduin glared at the bracelet back on his wrist. "Binding me with a magical shield..." Alduin gazed at the bracelet's underside. "Made in China..." He swore.

"Where the hell is China?"

**The next morning,**

Alduin woke up with a big headache and his arm red and sore. He had spent most of the night trying to rid himself of the bracelet but everytime it left his arm, it found some way to come back in seconds.

In the toilet, Alduin was brushing his teeth and hair. The latter was a mess, probably thanks to the uncomfortable sleep he had. And the dream. The same dream as before came but this Paarthurnax failed to make an appearance, leaving Alduin to simply sit there all alone, in the black void. Just like before. "Damn coward..." Alduin spit out the gargled water, as if he was spitting at Paarthurnax's face.

The dream gave him the chills. It was like when he was teleported 200 years through time. Spending 200 years in the 4th dimension all alone. The reason he had went mad and on a rampage. Probably an outcome that was intended by his damn brother. "And now, he is the only thing that can allow me to talk to Dad. How am I supposed to tell him of his plan?"

Alduin cursed his lack of godhood. As he exited, he noticed Soul and Maka at the dining table. Maka obviously had a terrible night, thanks to him. Her eyes were swollen and red. Soul. Well Soul was obviously glaring at Alduin as he sat down beside him.

"What did you do?" Soul hissed, out of earshot from Maka.

"Nothing." Alduin indifferently replied. The girl, who had obviously noticed the conversation, quickly turned away, trying to cover up her eyes. "I'm sorry, Alduin...I...I..."

"Shut it, Maka." Soul and Maka gasped at Alduin's sudden retort. "You need to grow a backbone. Understand that you must not always do what others expect of you. Be yourself. I wasn't questioning your entire life last night. I was challenging you to find yourself. Figure out who you are If your world of peace does come, then what would you be in that world? Think about that."

Alduin got up from his seat and headed for the kitchen. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to make us some breakfast." There he left Maka and Soul speechless as Maka brood over his words.

**20 minutes later,**

Mortals sure have large appetites. Alduin mused as he watched Soul gobbled down the 3rd bowl of mushroom soup and bread. The atmosphere had lessened in intensity and Maka now seemed to have calmed down, a familiar smile back on her face.

"This is great. How did you make this?" Soul smacked his lips, his tongue licking up any remains he had missed. "It's even better than any rubbish Maka can make..." Smack! Alduin sighed as Soul's head was smacked by a book. "Urgh..."

"Got your spirit back up, huh?" Alduin questioned Maka, who kept the book to one side. The girl nodded as she too was eating through her second bowl, though more politely. "How did you make a simple canned soup so nice?"

"Oh...I kinda learned how to fend for myself for this time travel..." Alduin cursed his poor excuse. Truthfully, when you are a god, though you never go hungry, a god still has time to indulge in the best food and Alduin, before turning evil, had learned from the finest chefs, thinking he would need it when the plan for Skyrim was set in motion. Of course, he couldn't tell that to her. "She would never believe me anyway," He reminded himself. Truly, he was in a dilemma.

Either use the hourglass and use World Eater on Chaos or do what his father would do and find some other way. "It seems so tempting to take the easy way out," he cringed as he watched Maka and Soul continue their breakfast. Mortals being used as tools. While it was something the gods and Daedra had done for eons, it still never felt...right.

"Something wrong? Not satisfied with your cooking?" Alduin was snapped out of his thoughts by Maka's voice. Noticing his spoon just playing with his soup, Alduin shook his head and began to dig in himself.

Then the bang.

BANG! The trio jumped up as a sound came from Alduin's room. "What the hell?" Soul and Maka stayed on their seats as Alduin jumped up. "Excuse me..." He said as he rushed in the door, fist clenched to punch at Paarthurnax's face. But no Paarthurnax.

Instead, on the ground was a red-haired boy. The boy seemed to be spasming as he tried to get up, only to fall down again. "How in Akatosh..." the boy was swearing as he struggled to even stand. "What did they do to me?" Alduin looked on from the doorway as Maka and Soul came to see what's up.

The boy was in a crimson vest over a white jacket and he wore black jeans with a blazing fire pattern. "Yol...Tol...Shor!" The boy roared and Alduin instantly recognized the shout for fire. But nothing happened. "Hey!" he ran up to the boy's side, trying to pick him. "Ouch, watch it!" The boy swore as he got up for two seconds before losing motor control again.

In 2 minutes, the boy was finally able to stand and Alduin got to see his face. The boy was youth-like and he had a red-crimson hair with one of the hairstyles that covered one of his eyes. But the other told of experience and battle-worn weariness. Furthermore, it was something Alduin instantly recognized. The eyes of an old friend. A second-in-command, to be exact.

"Odahving?"

"Alduin?"

Then both of them went for the other's necks.

**So Odahving has appeared. Looks like Alduin won't be the only fallen one. Please review.**

**P.S. For those who don't know, Odahving was Alduin's second-in-command dragon during the Skyrim battle. But then he betrayed Alduin by siding with the Dragonborn against Alduin, due to his doubts about Alduin's power.**


	16. Alduin 14

"Argh!"

"Raah!"

Maka and Soul could only look on as the two boys rolled around the house, choking each other. However, Odahving was still unusued to his human body and Alduin took advantage by giving a rising kick before locking his arms behind his back.

"How did you get here?"

"Same thing I should ask to you!" Odahving spun out of the lock before once again tripping on himself, landing facefirst on the floor. "Damn body!"

Seizing the opportunity, Alduin used his Slow Time and soon he had Odahving locked against a wall, the dragon-turned-boy struggling and flailing his limbs wildly. "No fair! You get to keep your shouts!"

"Shut up, Odahving! Understand who is your superior!"

"Alduin, you lost the position as leader. You are no longer my master!" Odahving continued to fight back to no avail. While Odahving was an ex-dragon, Alduin was an ex-god. It was obvious who was stronger.

With Odahving caught, Alduin then whispered into his ear in Dragontongue, out of earshot of Maka and Soul. "Listen you idiot, you and I need to help each other out. The fates of both worlds are in our hands now. Who sent you?"

"Why are you suddenly so secretive? Afraid the humans will hear?"

"Odahving, you better play along as a person from the future. In exchange, I'll give some of your words back. And you better not stab my back."

"I'm not your servent anymore..."

"I don't care, idiot! Now let me ask you again. What are you doing here?"

As they spoke, Maka and Soul stood by, unable to tell what they were talking about.

"Paarthurnax sent me. He said that the Dragonborn was accidentally sent to another direction. As his sworn helper, I was obliged to find and help him."

"Well, looks like you have been tricked as well. The Dragonborn had been eaten by Paarthurnax."

"Impossible! Why should I believe you? Paarthurnax saw the Dragonborn as a new hope. Why would he snuff out that hope himself?"

"Those were my words he was using. I saw the Dovahkiin as a hope but he saw him as a tool. You have no reason to believe me Odahving. But then think. Why would you become a human instead of a dragon? It would be easier to find him that way."

"Now that you say it like that...Paarthurnax was indeed acting kinda strangely these days."

"I'm not your enemy. He is..."

"How can I know that this is not just a trick of yours?"

"Listen here idiot! You want to live? Then help me out here!" Alduin glared at the defiant boy, annoyed enough to want to shout at him. But he kept this cool.

After a brief silence, Alduin felt no more resistance from Odahving. "Fine..." Alduin let the boy back down from his iron grip and then he turned to the confused Maka and Soul.

"He's a friend from the future...He had been sent to help me out..."

"Wait a minute..." Odahving was about to complain but Alduin simply slapped him on the face, silencing him.

"So he's here to help us against Chaos?"

"Chaos? Who's..." Odahving suddenly paused, then his eyes widened in realization.

Alduin turned to meet his colleague's silent gaze. "Yes, Odahving. Things are worse than you know it."

**10 minutes later... **

"So basically, you guys have to fight against Chaos, right?" Odahving inquired after the gang told him about everything. "And you guys are from the present?" Odahving pointed at Maka and Soul, who nodded.

Deciding to play along, Odahving extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Odahving from the future..." Alduin face-palmed himself, wondering why he had came up with that sorry lie in the first place.

"Maka."

"Soul Eater."

"Nice to meet you. Now Alduin about my words..." Odahving turned to Alduin. Alduin nodded in acknowledgement as he placed his hands on Odahving's shoulders. "Hold still..."

Alduin then pushed his forehead against Odahving's as they both closed their eyes and concentrated. Alduin felt as his knowledge was passed on to Odahving and at the same time, he accessed Odahving's own memories.

The images were blurry at first but soon he saw his brother in one of the memories. The old dragon looked a lot different than before. Instead of his grayish white look, the dragon now had pulsating strains of black over his body.

As he watched, Paarthurnax told the listening Odahving to find the Dragonborn but though the latter dragon believed the god's words, Alduin knew it was all a lie. The telltale signs were on his brother. The small almost invisible grin on the edge of his mouth. His tail moving about, swaying unnaturally from side to side. And a light furrowing of his brother's brow.

Then he watched as Odahving began tol fall through the ground and then the memory ended.

Relaxing, the two separated their heads as Maka and Soul watched what had happened. "So he can shout too?" Soul pointed at Odahving.

Alduin nodded as Odahving was silent. Not only did he gain the power of the words again, he had also looked into Alduin's own inner memories and thoughts. And hence the entire plan.

"Looks like I was wrong about you." Odahving hung his head. "I never believed that you would be willing to sacrifice yourself for the entirety of Skyrim and Nirn..."

"It's alright..." Alduin patted Odahving's back. "You were used like a tool by Paarthurnax..." Alduin, though he still felt an inner anger at Odahving, he could also see its flame becoming smaller and smaller. Must be due to his interaction with the humans. "Besides, Odahving, you had no reason to listen to me when I attacked Skyrim. I was mad at that time due to time passage. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to bring the Dragonborn to his full potential." Of course, these words were passed through Dragontongue to avoid being overheard.

"A hero always need an opponent and adversity to be become a legend. That was how Talos, Tiber Septim himself, did it."

"Yes..." Alduin had his mind brought back to whenever he encountered the human-turned-god. A human who managed to conquer an entire continent. It was the only time he ever had respect for the mortals. The infinite potential they had. Something the gods themselves could never understand or achieve.

"So what will you do? Take the hourglass or find someway else?"

"For now, we play along. But be on the lookout for other alternatives..." Alduin and Odahving agreed. Turning to Maka and Soul, Alduin explained in an appropriate way. "So I've talked to my partner here and we decided that he will have to stay here too. We will also need to do some more research along the way to get the hourglass...So...Maka...do you have another room?"

"Urm...sorry...I don't know where..." Maka was eyeing the catwoman's room but Alduin immediately stopped her. "Without getting anyone to move out..."

Soul then suddenly jumped up.

"I know just the place!"


	17. Extras: Paarthurnax

BIO TIME!

Paarthurnax

**Name:** Paarthurnax; In English: Ambition Overlord Cruelty

**Aliases:** Younger brother of Alduin; Grandmaster of the Voice; The Old One;

**Race:** Dragon/ God

**Position:** Leader of The Greybeards

**Biography:**

Paarthurnax is the great almighty Grandmaster of the Voice and leader of the Greybeards, a group of reclusive Nord hermits of Skyrim who are trained and mastered in the use of the Voice. In game, he is the main dragon helper of the Dragonborn and has assisted him in the fighting of Alduin. But now he has apparently killed the Dragonborn himself and now seems to have a sinister plot involving Alduin's World Eater.

However, he is also the younger brother of Alduin and thus was the only one Alduin included in his great plan to bring forth the Dovahkin to reunite Skyrim and rid it of all conflict by sending Alduin 200 years later to act as an potent adversary for the Dovahkiin.

Despite his apparent help to the Dragonborn, Paarthurnax frequently speaks to him about the Way of the Voice, a mysterious and unusual philosophy that has remained obscured and unknown. Even the Greybeards, his subordinates, could only grasp bits about his philosophy. However, Alduin himself recently has a feeling that the Way of the Voice is merely a psychological tool to indoctrinate his victims and use them to his own ends.

**Personality:**

Paarthurnax' name meaning in human tongue is "Ambition Overlord Cruelty".

At first glance, one might think of him as a wise man, providing good advice and is an exceptionally good teacher. However, once one understands what his name means, the act is dropped and Paarthurnax won't hesitate to put any mortal in his place.

Paarthurnax is, like any god, greatly ambitious and power-seeking. However, no one knows why or what he seeks. Unlike most gods, who simply look for power to do their jobs better, Paarthurnax clearly has no such view and no one dares to probe deeper into his intentions. Until Alduin.

Paarthurnax has an Overlord dark side to his somewhat wise-man look. He is, like Alduin, somewhat condescending to the mortals. However, he differs in that though his brother feels that the mortals are corrupt and only cause problems, Paarthurnax has a sadistic respect for them as useful tools and thus loves to twist them around their finger and use them to his goals.

Lastly, Paarthurnax is inherently cruel as shown recently. Not only it seems that he had intended Alduin to reach a mad state during the Skyrim crisis, it also seems that he has no qualms to massacre entire worlds to keep himself alive and destroy Chaos. It also seems that he is also cruel enough to play with Odahving's protectiveness of the Dragonborn, tricking him to join Alduin in search of the Dragonborn.

**Powers:**

**Master of the Voice** – While rarely shown, Paarthurnax, as a god and a dragon, as well as the Graybeard leader, is a feared Voice-user. He is especially adept at the basic shouts, making the seemingly worthless shouts become fatal instruments of his wrath. He is said to have surpassed Alduin in this aspect but lacks Alduin's temporal powers and superior physical abilities.

**Dragon Form – **As a Dragon, Paarthurnax possessed super strength, speed in flight and an incredibly high endurance. Combined with the natural toughness and blessed protection of a god, Paarthurnax is a deadly foe when up close and personal. Match that with the Voice and chances of defeat are as slim as getting Kid to appreciate something unsymmetrical.

**Manipulation – **Paarthurnax is very good at covering up his true intentions and his true personality. He is also a fluid speaker and with the natural Voice, his words are compelling and almost impossible to ignore. Even the gods and Alduin have a hard time resisting him and Alduin sometimes call him "The Voice that is always heard."

**Intelligence – **Unlike Alduin, who does not like to use much knowledge, Paarthurnax can make effective use of the knowledge he has built up over his years as a god. This is most evident in his ability to manipulate others, appealing to their personalities according to what he knows about them.


	18. Alduin 15

Alduin was panting and felt his skirt stick against his seaty body like a second slimy skin. Across the room was Odahving, who too was also as exhausted-looking as him. Then, giving war crys, the two begin to spar again, crossing fists and legs.

They were in the Academy Dojo, with Alduin fighting Odahving to get him up to speed with his new human body. Black Star was watching from the side, kind of aghast at the speed the two boys in front of him were fighting. He wasn't aware of the Temporal Distortion that the Thu'um could bring and instead he was seeing blurs of boys duking it out.

Alduin, who had much more experience, managed to execute a roundhouse at Odahving's gut and followed with an under-sweep on his legs. This brought the red-haired teenager onto the ground. As Odahving attempted to retaliate with a break-dance, Alduin jumped back out of reach before giving another roar. "Yol!"

"Yol!"

At this command, the two streams of blue and red flames collided to a standstill. "Those two are really hyped up..." Black Star, perking up his ears, turned to Tsubaki who was returning with his lunch. "Well maybe...But I Black Star still gonna become a god! Hahahaha!"

As he heard, Odahving sweat dropped. "Alduin, how do you put with that boy?" He spoke in the Dragontongue. "I just do..." Alduin sighed back.

"You guys done?"

Alduin and Odahving turned to see Death the Kid and Maka Albarn, with their respective weapon partners. "Got me a room?" Odahving was first to speak.

Maka smiled and nodded. "I asked Death to give you one of the Academy's bedroom. And with Kid's help, he agreed to have you as a new student."

"So does he..." Alduin gestured to Death the Kid. Maka nodded. "I had to tell him about where you come from, sorry..."

"Don't worry..." Alduin walked up to the formal-looking Kid. "So you're from the future?" Kid looked up at Alduin, who was considerably taller than the gang. Alduin prepared himself from the same barrage of questions about the future he had experienced when they told Black Star.

"So is the moon symmetrical?"

Bam! Everyone, save Kid and Patty and Liz, fell to the ground anime-style. "What?" Kid looked at the fallen bodies of his comrades, who are all paralysed by his symmetry obsession. "Don't you think you have a better question than that?" Soul protested.

"No question is more important than symmetry!"

"So can we go now?" Odahving sweat-dropped as the entire gang got up. "Can I see my room?"

"Hold on..." Kid raised his hand. "Black Star and Maka got their turn. It's mine now."

"Huh?" Alduin suddenly knew what was about to come. "Let's battle!" Death the Kid grinned as he motioned at Patty and Liz. In a flash, the two girls morphed into two handguns, held upside-down, with Kid's pinkies at the trigger.

"Wait a minute! Just like that?" Alduin jumped back as a rain of energy bullets smashed at the spot where he was a moment ago. "What the hell are you doing?" Odahving was about to charge in to confront Kid but Alduin yelled at him. "Don't worry. They are always like that." Alduin grinned as he activated the cursed shield. Though they were obviously not real dragonscales, the shield's scales managed to block off most of the blasts.

Most. As Aldous dropped back from the force, another two shots caught him in the knee area. Though they did not pierce his flesh, Alduin felt his joints being hit and he yelled in pain. Gritting his teeth, Alduin rolled out of the way of the next incoming shots, planting his back behind some coincidentally present crates. "Now where did these come from?" He thought as he popped his head out, only to pulling back to avoid another barrage. Maka and company watched well away at the side, with Odahving being held back by Black Star from rushing up and smashing Kid.

"Soul Resonance!"

"Huh?"

Alduin barely got out as a huge blast enveloped the crates and obliterated them. When he turned to face Kid, he had to dodge another pair of large energy balls. Liz and Patty the handguns had disappeared. Instead Kid was now sporting some fancy new gear. His hands were completely covered in a huge cannon, the type that one would expect on tanks. His upper arms had spikes protruding out, crackling with black electricity.

"Death Penalty! Secured!" Kid yelled and the electricity arced into the cannons then Alduin heard the voices.

"Resonance stable. Noise at 0.12%." Liz's voice was clearly heard.

"Black Needles fully charged with soul wavelength." Patty's.

"Feedback in 4 seconds." At this Alduin noticed bright energy rings begin to form on the cannon's body. Then energy spheres formed on the cannon tips before dispersing into smaller ones.

"Three."

The small spheres begin to gather into the cannon's barrel.

"Two."

The inner side of the barrel begin to glow and pulse as more energy gathered.

"One."

All of the particles reached the barrel and the rings now begin to shake about with electricity in them.

"Firing 3."

With a huge swing, Kid brought the two cannons together. His face was dark behind the glow of the cannons and his eyes were fixated on Alduin, marking his target. "Death Cannon..."

Bang! Alduin, standing there shocked the whole time, watched as the huge resultant energy balls came right for him. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, Alduin could only do one thing.

BOOOOOMMMM! Odahving suddenly stopped his struggle as he watched in aghast at the huge smoke, resulting from the explosion. Death the Kid, slowly and deliberately, strolled towards the smoking crater, while Tsubaki and Soul tried to quell out the burning debris from the blast. Maka stood there, her eyes hidden from view.

"It's not over yet."

Suddenly, Kid turned to face a punch from a hard bandaged fist, as Alduin appeared in front of the surprised Reaper. "Not so good in close combat, huh?" Alduin roared as he gave a kick that sent Kid backwards skidding a few metres. With the sisters in artillery mode, Kid could not counter attack easily, so the cannons glowed to revert the transformation. But Alduin took advantage of the delay. Appearing behind Kid this time, Alduin's time slow allowed him to quickly trip Kid. Once on the ground, Alduin was about to do a towards-ground punch to finish off Kid.

But then his speeding fist suddenly slowed down, inches away from Kid, and Alduin realized that his Time Slow was up. But Kid was just as quick in reflexes. Aiming at Alduin' chest, Kid fired his handguns. Only the timely bringing up of the shield prevented Alduin from a quick defeat.

"Damn you..." Alduin panted, his energy visibly draining. He had expected to take out Kid with the Time Slow movement but it was clearly not enough. "I need to take him out in one single hit. But how?" Alduin, in frustration, shook his aching fist and Maka suddenly gasped.

In truth, she had been observing Alduin for a long time and though she never mentioned it, she had been observing Alduin with her Soul Sight. But one thing always confused, she noticed that Alduin never seem to have a soul, just like Death. Though she looked up and noticed Death's wavelength covering the entire city, she was still unable to find Alduin's. But now, she watched as a huge black soul with giant wings begin to appear as it shrunk to cover Alduin's body. Then it begin to contract and the soul grew even smaller, becoming as big as a fist. Right smack inside Alduin.

Then everyone else gasped along with her. Alduin looked at the fist he had shook as electrical flames, black as night, begin to twist and cover the fist. The fist itself had lost its aching senstation and instead now held an energetic spur. "Soul Force?" Black Star gasped as he recognized his own move, though it was now drastically altered and the wind itself was curling around the burning crackling fist, as Alduin began to exert massive pressure. "Yaargh!" Alduin responded to this new power extraordinarily well, giving a large battle cry.

**In the Death Room,**

Death looked up once again and then something seem different. The black soul aura that had been in the distant sky had suddenly disappeared. Death could feel a shiver down his spine, if he had one, and he knew something was happening.

"Yaargh!" Death suddenly dropped his tea cup of coffee as a huge roar came from outside. "What in the world is happening?"

**Back at the dojo,**

Death the Kid, knowing the tables had turned bad, quickly activated his resonance. As the cannons came back to hand, Kid barely had time before Alduin began his deadly berserker-like advance. "Death Cannon!" he yelled as he fired a hastily-set shot. But the balls were not even at their full power and Alduin simply raised his burning fist and caught one of the glowing shots in the air.

Kid gulped as Alduin now had a mad smile, his black eyes looking at him hungrily.

And for Alduin, he was yelling at himself to stop, his mind to stop, as black tendrils began to coil around his consciousness.

The burst of power had awakened the fragmented state again and now Alduin could only desperately attempt to guide his now crazy body to avoid endangering Kid's life. As he watched from the depths of his mind prison, he quickly willed the burning arm to move ever so slightly. Sure enough, as the arm flung its glowing projectile back at the Kid, the ball exploded a short distance away from him. Kid was pushed back by the impact but otherwise unhurt.

Maka and the gang now knew that things had gone bad and she took charge as Soul came to her hands as a scythe and she was about to stop the battle. But the wind then pushed the entire group back, with Maka and Black Star falling to the ground, while Odahving only managed to fight the pressure to a standstill. "Alduin, snap out of it." He roared as he unleashed a barrage of Fus and Yol, only to have the respective force waves and fire breaths being blown away by the pressure shield.

"I can't..." Alduin panted in his mind as he tried to break free of the now growing black tendrils that were breaking his mind apart. "Get off!" he yelled, clearly exhausted. Then he watched, helpless as his body got closer and nearer to Kid, who was too tired to fire another shot.

"Don't you dare, hold back a god!" He finally felt a new burst of anger and determination. Remembering the new technique he had picked up, Alduin created a mental version of it and with the new blazing fist he pushed back the tendrils. Once and twice weren't enough. Finally three times sent the tendrils recoiling back to the dark depths.

"ARRGGHHHH!" he roared as the pressure quickly dropped and the body he had lost control of was once his again. "You okay?" He called to Kid as Maka and company got up, while Odahving kneeled down, exhausted from the barrage he had executed against the shield. "Want to finish this?" Kid suddenly grinned. Alduin was surprised at this speedy recovery. "After what happened, you still want to fight?"

"You probably got carried away, just like Maka. It's fine. Let's go!" Kid was about to charge before Maka barged into the centre of the ravaged dojo.

"No it's not fine and it's not let's go. This battle is done! A draw, okay?" Hands up, Maka was trying to catch her breath, being surprised by the entire turn of events. She turned to Alduin. The black winged soul that was within him had suddenly disappeared. "What happened, Alduin? Was that...Asura's madness?"

Although he had been expecting a question, Alduin was caught off guard by the suggestion. "No way!" he denied fiercely. "There is no way I have been maddened by your Kishin."

"Oh what happened here?" The gang turned as Death popped up from around the corner. "Now this is a real financial problem..." Death looked around at the smashed up dojo. "But no problem...what happened here?"

"Sorry Dad. We got kinda caught up with training. I was sparring with Alduin over there. Nothing wrong..." Death the Kid was first to speak and was covering up for them.

"I see..." Death turned to look at Odahving, who was panting. The boy's red soul was considerably large but nothing else special. Then he looked at Alduin. The black-haired teenager was showing no soul at all. "Interesting..." He took a peek up. And sure enough, the same black winged soul aura was now back in the atmosphere. "Just don't get too overzealous next time, okay son? And you must be Odahving. Better get to your room. The day is almost gone. Can you kids bring him to his room?" Death pointed at the red head.

"Ummmm...c'mon Odahving right this way. Bye, sir!" Maka and Soul quickly picked up Odahving and with Black Star, Tsubaki in tow, now headed for the academy underworks. As Alduin was about to follow them, Death suddenly spoke. "Wait." Kid and the two girl gulped at the words.

Alduin, eyes widened, turned to face the black figure with a kiddy skull mask. "Yes...sir?" Alduin forced out the last word, his godly background hindering him. For a long moment, Alduin and Death exchanged stares and Kid was now chewing his collar, afraid of what would happen next.

"SHINIGAMI CHOP!" Death smacked Alduin right in the head with his huge white hand. "Ouch!" Alduin just rubbed his head, much to Kid and partners' shock. "Huh? You are still immune...Oh well...That was fun...You can go now..." Death sighed at the lack of effect his chop had.

Alduin, rubbing his head, quickly turned to follow the others leaving. Kid face-palmed as he followed his dad back home.

"Damn choppers..."

**So Alduin's soul has begun to show activity and a battle between him and Kid has ended in an awkward draw. Now Odahving will get to see his room. Stay Tuned and review!**


	19. Alduin 16

**Hi guys, I'm writing right in the middle of a holiday in Bangkok, Thailand. Hope you like it!**

"This is my room..." Odahving sighed as the gang brought him to one of the rooms in the Scademy underworks. "It looks like a prison cell." The room was dimly lit, with only one flickering light. The walls were made out of plain concrete and the desk was not very well-furnished. As Odahving sat on the bed, a spring popped out to hit him in the butt.

"How did I, a dragon, get down to such a level?" Odahving whispered to Alduin, crying streams of depressed tears. "Now you know how I feel!" Alduin whispered back, now crying the same tears as they reminisced back to when they were their true selves.

"You guys alright?" Soul gazed at the two boys crying together. "Yes. I'm just crying at how lovely my room is. The future sucks compared to this." Odahving bluffed while Alduin nodded in tandem, their tears still being tears of depression. Soul, who was suspicious at first, sighed and believed them. As they wiped off their tears, Odahving was given a tour (if you can tour a room) by Maka. Alduin looked from the side. Beside him, Black Star was snorting at how he could sleep in a place ten times worse than this, for he is 'God'. Tsubaki was trying to bring him back to earth, to no avail.

"So like your room?" Maka giggled. " A friend of mine lived here before. He loved the place."

Odahving raised an eyebrow. "He loved it enough to pour black paint on the wall?" He pointed to the large black stain on the concrete. "What is this?" Odahving and Alduin then felt a familiar smell come up to their nose. "Blood..."

"Oh, that stain was actually dried up Black Blood...don't worry it's harmless..." Maka assured the two as they stared at the Black Blood in shock.

"This world is weird, Alduin..."

"Oh you haven't seen everything..."

**3 hours of persuading Odahving to live there and helping him with a major refurnishing(which he demanded) later,**

Alduin sighed as he and Maka and Soul dragged themselves back into the house. "Uhhhh..." Alduin tried to rub off the paint off his shirt. Maka's own pigtails were like paintbrushes, with paint at their ends. Soul. Well, since he had accidentally tried to slack by lying against a newly painted wall, his entire back was a nice shade of red.

"Ohh are you guys like trying some new fashion?" Blair was there with a bowlful of fish as she saw the group enter. "Ahhh Soul-san is so cute!" Blair was just about to grab Soul before he bolted out of her each into his room.

"Bring me dinner for me!" Soul called out from his room, not daring to come out in fear of the crazy cat in front of his door.

"Ah...Alduin, you can bathe first. I'm cooking dinner today."

"Oh...okay..." Alduin decided to listen to Maka as he brought out a change of clothes.

**10 minutes later...**

"Ahhhh...much better..." Alduin sighed as he walked out of the bathroom, feeling much more refreshed. In truth, he hadn't had a bath for over 2 centuries. Guess one can't really find a nice spot to bathe in when you are big as a dragon. Especially if everything and anything is out there to kill you.

"Uhhh...how?"

"Huh?" Alduin walked into the kitchen and Maka was in the kitchen looking at what seemed like a packet of instant noodles. "Uhh...I was thinking of doing something else other than Maggie or instants today but how?" Maka seemed to in a dilemma as she searched through the closet.

"Oi!"

"Ah?" Maka turned and jumped when she suddenly noticed Alduin standing there at the kitchen entrance. "Got a problem?"

"Ah...no...no..I just need..."

"Let me look at your fridge. I'll cook something up."

"Huh?" Maka stepped back as Alduin checked through the kitchen. What happened next amazed her.

**2 hours later...**

"This is super-delicious!" Alduin groaned as he heard Soul's cheerful voice from his room. He then smiled as he passed the plate of succulent crabmeat fried rice to Maka before moving to his own on the table. In the living room, he could hear Blair munching on the special grilled salmon he had prepared.

"Well, dig in!" Alduin gestured to Maka, who was kind of looking at him in awe, which gave both a nostalgic and unusual feeling. "I can't believe this..." Maka looked at the rice, not daring to eat such a great piece of food. "Go on..." Alduin bumped her in the shoulder, which seemed to snap her out of her trance of awe.

"Oh...sorry..." Maka looked down, embarrassed as she began to eat. Alduin followed her soon after. To him, the food was nowhere better than what he could find in the Hall of the Divines but with such mortal ingredients he could find in kitchen, he could not help but admit that he did a good job of cooking dinner.

"Next time, you better teach me how to do that. Maybe you should be a chef instead of a fighter?"

"Don't count on it..." Alduin retorted half-jokingly back, though honestly being a chef kind of seems to be insulting to his godly background.

"Hahaha..." The next half-an-hour was filled with chit-chat and some small amount of gossip, as Alduin and Maka devoured their dinner, with the occasional meow or happy shout interrupting them.

**In the Hall of the Divines,**

The large long hall had lost its usual glow as the sign of Chaos became increasingly evident, with the immortal lights becoming dimmer than normal. Paarthurnax looked at the growing disgracing look of the hall in disgust as he moved his hulking dragon body through the hall. However, despite his size, the entire hall could fit easily 10 of himself in one row. Paarthurnax noted the severe lack of the usual messengers spirits zooming about on courier jobs or gods taking advantage of their rare break to chat about the world.

The floor of the Hall was entirely made out of transparent glass and Paarthurnax looked through it to see the planet of Nirn below. It was in its worst state ever, with a quarter of the planet in flames and lava from the constant human conflicts. "Damn mortals..." He swore as he approached the end of the hall and his destination.

The end of the hall was like a crossroads with three different paths. Two of the paths ended in glowing ovals levitating in the air. On his left was the portal to Sovngarde, or in other words, the mortal heaven. On his right was the portal to the human world, Nirn _and_ Earth. As for the one right in front of him, an orb, giving out pulsating light, levitated above a tall platform. Around it was a circle of seats, each of varying sizes and decoration. The Council of the Divines. And beyond the room, across Paarthurnax was a huge carving, with 14 glowing stones around its centre.

The carving depicted a joining of dimensions and borders and its upper portion shown the gods all fighting on against a dark towering being. Its wings were a maelstrom of black stone and gas and the center of the being had a giant black hole in its center. Paarthurnax scowled at it and blasted a stream of fire at the being, with no effect on the indestructible carving.

Chaos.

And below the gods the Daedra were warring against another towering being, in the opposite position of Chaos. In stark contrast to the Chaos' black shroud, the other being was covered from head to toe in white and it had angel-like wings. In its own center was a shining star, reminiscent to the singularity that started the Big Bang. Paarthurnax nodded in respect at the figure. It was the archenemy of the Daedra, as much as Chaos was to the gods.

Order.

Both could destroy the universe in a whim and the victory of either would mean its end. But let the Daedra do what they have to do. Paarthurnax removed himself from his distraction. They will have to focus on their current enemy. Paarthurnax moved towards the glowing orb in the room's center and the orb then lighted up into a myriad of colours as a voice began to resound throughout the room.

"My son...How has your brother fared on Earth?" The voice was obviously tired and old of age. It had a taste of hope and optimism. "He has been improving in prowess. Alduin has shown himself to have allied with the humans."

"Good. The humans will be a great help against Chaos. The other gods are on the ready to face Chaos' growing body. Have the dragons rallied under Odahving? We will need their support."

"Yes, Odahving is working very hard in bringing them together." Paarthurnax grinned at his obvious lie.

"And my hourglass?"

"Still safe in my grasp." Paarthurnax stifled a giggle as he began to circle the orb. "Is something wrong, my son?"

Cursing his father's sensitive ears, Paarthurnax quickly diverted his attention. "Alduin has been having...difficulties with the humans..."

"Is that so?" Father suddenly sounded suspicious. But then a blast could be heard in the background and the great god of Time had little time to continue.

"Tell Alduin that he needs to find the Sins and Virtues. I am activating the stones now. You will have the honour of passing this most important message to him. Now go, son. May both of you not fail me in the name of Chaos and Order...Move away, Talos!" Another blast resounded through the room. In response, the orb lost its previous light and glamour and Paarthurnax quickly hurried to the carving. As the 14 stones began to light up, Paarthurnax grabbed one of them.

Almost immediately the thirteen remaining one began to fly off the carving, forming an uncomplete double rainbow helix as they zoomed into the portal to the human worlds. To Earth.

"I'm sorry, father." Paarthurnax smirked as he held the last stone in his talons. "Alduin won't be able to succeed for you."

Paarthurnax then gasped as the stone began to shake against him, struggling to escape his grasp and follow his brothers. "Oh no you don't!" he roared as he smashed the stone onto the ground. In a split blinding second, the stone glowed for a while before finally dying out. "Now you are just a stone..." Paarthurnax grinned as he headed to the portal of the human world, intending to throw away the now useless stone.

But then he stopped and then after a while of thinking, he laughed manically as he threw the stone into Sovngarde. "Now try to find this stone, Alduin! After all, you will have to die first before you can even get it!"

Turning to face the glass floor, Paarthurnax smiled as he watched an angelic wing began to grow out of Nirn, pushing its way out of the ground as energy magical blasts hit it again and again, with no visible effect. "Looks the Daedra are not so powerful after all..." he showed his sharp bloody teeth as Order prepared to wreak havoc on Nirn.

"I can't allow Chaos to create a new universe...but Order...That's a totally different story..."

**So now we know that there are two different super-entities, Chaos and Order. And Paarthurnax plans to allow Order to remake the universe. And the 7 Deadly Sins and 7 Great Virtues have been sent to Earth, with one of their kin clearly missing. But which one? Please review.**


	20. Alduin 17

"What the?" Alduin shook himself out of his bed as he quickly felt a shiver went down his spine. The shiver felt familiar, yet it had a far away feeling about it. It was a feeling that he had seem to have forgotten as he racked his brains for what it meant.

"Where did I feel this before...?" He spoke to himself as he looked out of the window. Then he saw a blinding flash.

Crash! Alduin ducked as the window shattered into pieces and a comet sailed over his head. The burning stone crashed straight into the wall and the light continued to fill the room before finally dying out.

Before he could look closer, Alduin heard a huge boom and he looked out the destroyed window. In the dark night sky, 12 other streaks of light, each a different colour, could be seen as their heads sped away into the horizon in differing directions, eventually. As Maka and Soul charged in to see what was up, Alduin turned to the stone embedded in his wall.

"It can't be..." Alduin picked up the glowing white stone as it began to melt into a mercurial-like form and then levitated in his hand as it began to shape-shift. The shape-shifting eventually halted as the stone took its final form.

The stone had turned into what looked like a palm-sized crest which possessed angelic wings at its side. Its center had a crystal of white, exuding the purity and holiness of the heaven's. The rest of the crest was a dragon that had a features of an angel and had two words on each of its wings.

Alduin read the first one, knowing what it already meant.

"The First Heavenly Virtue, Humanitas. In other words...kindness..."

Alduin then looked at the second one, as it began to glow and strings of energy flowed from it to him. But instead of one word, two came into his mind. "Fo...Kaan...Frost...Kyne..."

With these words, Aldous felt his tongue began to sting as wisps of ice and frost billowed out of his mouth and the flies that had been irritating him had now simply flown about, seeming to have lost their aggressive nature. Frost Breath and Kyne's Peace.

"Heavenly virtue? Isn't that a Christian..." Maka was about to think more into it but Alduin stopped her.

"This." He pointed at the stone. "This is a sign...Just now there were other streams of light up in the sky. Didn't you see it?" Soul and Maka nodded. "Let me guess. We need to find them..." Soul groaned. Alduin frowned but agreed with a curt nod.

"What are these actually?" Maka admired the Humanitas crest while Alduin, standing at a corner, was biting his thumb's nail in confusion. "Why were there 13?" Alduin questioned as he remembered the streams of lights.

"Earth to Alduin. Hello?" Maka gave a brief Maka Chop on his head and Alduin was snapped out of his thoughts. "What?"

"What are the Heavenly Virtues?"

"You mean, what they are or what are they?"

"How about both?"

Alduin, realizing he couldn't just say the stones are from the heavens, quickly came up with an excuse. "These are one of the newest technologies sent from the future. I am sure, as you mentioned before, that you know about the sins and virtues of the Christian. This technology is named after them and when all 14 of them have been brought together, the very fabric of reality will be at your fingertips. Of course...there is a limit..." Alduin then suddenly widened his eyes in shock.

Scratching his head in frustration, he began to search in his memories what that limit was. "Why can't I remember...?" Alduin felt himself rummage through his mind but some of it remained in fragments due to his ex-mad state while the most deep recesses were being blocked off. "How did I not figure this out before?" Cursing himself, Alduin hung his head as Maka continued to stand there, waiting for him to continue.

"I don't know..." Maka, hearing this, patted Alduin on the shoulder. "It's okay...I guess even if you are from the future, you can't possibly know everything..." She smiled assuringly as Soul sat at the side, thinking about what to do with the dent in the wall.

"I think..." Alduin looked up, grabbing his bag. "I think I need to talk to someone..."

**In the DWMA... **

"So the Sins and Virtues have been activated..." Odahving looked closely at the Humanitas crest as Alduin sat by at the bed. Odahving's room now had bronze-red colour walls, with a matching bed and desk, as well as a change from a prison gate to a normal woodern door. Odahving had already been gotten busy with the books and Alduin absent-mindedly flipped through one of the many books that were in Odahving's new bookshelf.

"Tell me Odahving." Alduin put the book back. "Tell me about the Sins and Virtues again."

"Sir?"

"I can't seem to remember what they really were about. Only thing I can pick up is their reality-bending powers."

"Madness bending your memory? Do you need medical help, Alduin?"

"No, thanks. Just fill me with what you know. Even as a dragon, you should have at least some knowledge about them." Alduin helped himself to a cup of coffee from the coffee maker that Odahving had ordered.

"Fine." Odahving threw the crest back to Alduin. "I do not know that much about the Sins or Virtues. However, I do know that these stones are the dormant form of the Original 14."

"Original 14?"

"The first 14 that were created by Chaos. 7 Aedra and 7 Daedra. In other words, seven gods of Virtue and seven gods of Sin."

"Then how did they turn from gods to this?" Alduin pointed to the crest.

"That I do not know. If you have the chance, you should ask your father. He should have the answer. But the real answer we need right now is the function and use of the stones." Odahving then ran up to his bookshelf and began to search. "Odah, this is Earth, not Nirn. Earth books can't possibly help us in matters like this."

"That's where you are wrong..." Odahving pulled out a thick dusty-looking book. "I found this in the Academy's library. The humans are amazing in keeping such old records...And coincidentally..." Odahving placed it on the desk, in Alduin's view. The book said: "Nirn, a world out of this world."

"No way..."

"Someone has gone through the same trip we have gone through. Just in the opposite direction and then back. If I am right, only the gods could be able to achieve this sort of thing."

"So you are saying that there is another god in Death City? That the Divines aren't the only gods in this universe?"

"It's highly possible. Take Death for instance. Is it possible he is a god? After all he is a so-called Death God. Or maybe one of the 9 Divines are here?"

"That's impossible. Why would a Divine just lie back while the others are fighting off Chaos?" Alduin furrowed his brow as he listened to Odahving's next suggestion.

"Then Daedra?"

"Daedra? It's possible. I mean, Chaos only threatens us, not them..." Alduin then suddenly felt as if something had just clicked into place in his mind. "It's impossible to be a daedra who wrote the book..."

"Huh?" Odahving looked as Alduin began to stagger, shaking his head and his hands close to ripping his hair out.

"Order...Who is Order?" Alduin tried to probe even more into his memory but all he could remember was a carving. It depicted a group of winged gods fighting off a black dark figure. But that was only half the carving. The other was smudged out from his memories' view but he could make out another figure opposite the black one. This figure was white and seemed to having a star in its center, as well showing angelic wings.

"Order?" Odahving, growing concerned, went to Alduin's side. "Tell me, Odah. Do you know about Order?" Alduin turned to face him, his eyes distracted by what he had seen in his memories.

"Order?" Odahving quickly flipped through the book. "It says here, that Order was Chaos' counterpart. It dictated that all in the universe should of one Order and one Way. Anything that diverges from this Way would be annihilated. Thus, while Chaos is known as the Mad Destroyer, Order is known as the Benevolent Dictator."

"A good guy?"

"I'm not so sure about that. According to the book, Order once destroyed a planet just because its colour was not what he wanted."

"What?" Alduin shook himself out of his memory trance as he heard this. Odahving read on.

"Order would eradicate all creativity, colour and anything that looks inconsistent or out of order."

"Sounds to me like a super-powered and super-emo version of Death the Kid."

"But what relevance does he have to the crisis we have now, Alduin?"

"I don't know, Odahving. But something in my mind keeps nagging at me. It keeps on saying that the Daedra couldn't have been the one who written the book. Odahving, who wrote the book? Is there a name?"

"Let's see..."

Odahving turned the book around as he scanned it. Then he saw the name. In big bright gold plated words, the name of the author surprised both Odahving and Alduin. "The _Zahkrii_ of _Zoor_..." ALduinwhispered in the Dragon tongue. "The Sword of Legend..."

Excalibur.

**Looks like Excalibur had been to Nirn before or at least he claims to have. And it seems that Alduin and Odahving have high expectations of him. Sadly they are going to be in for a shock. Readers, you should probably know why. Please review.**


	21. Extras: Odahving

BIO TIME!

Odahving

**Name:** Odahving; In English: Snow Hunter Wing

**Aliases:** Ex-Second-in-command dragon to Alduin; Dragonborn's personal dragon

**Race:** Dragon/Human

**Position:** Strongest dragon in Skyrim (Excluding dragon/gods like Paarthurnax)

**Biography:**

Odahving is a red dragon, a very rare and very powerful type of dragon.

Odahving used to be the second-in-command dragon of Alduin but soon when the Dragonborn grew in power, the red dragon decided to test the champion for himself, answering his call to Dragonreach, the human capital of the city Whiterun.

There he was captured by an elaborate trap and it was there he became impressed by the Dragonborn's ability to defeat him without killing him, calling it a rare quality. He was also forced to fly to Sovngarde with the Dragonborn to allow him to face Alduin in battle. However, after the deal, the dragon grew more attached and respectful of the human and thus severed his ties with Alduin.

After Alduin had been beaten and sent back to the Divines, the red dragon then pledged his loyalty to the champion and thus assisted him many times whenever the Dragonborn calls for him. However, after a period of time of peace and tranquility, the Dragonborn suddenly disappeared, leaving Odahving stumped and curious. As a result he consulted Paarthurnax, who was the then leader of the dragons.

And so he came to Earth as a human, manipulated into thinking that the Dragonborn would be there.

**Personality:**

Odahving is an old experienced dragon, having seen his own fair share of war in his extended life. Also noting that he had been, like many dragons, revived by Alduin during the Skyrim crisis, Odahving possesses small, almost negligible amounts of Alduin's madness during that time. However, he was one of the fastest to quell that madness, leading him to be the first dragon to openly fight Alduin.

Odahving also has a somewhat rare ability to respect and admit the power and ability the humans have, leading to the same scenario with the Dragonborn. Odahving also admires the human's vessels of history and creativity, in other words, books. Some might even say he rivals Maka's status as chief bookworm.

Odahving is also loyal to those that have shown their prowess to him. This has led him to take drastic measures to test and then help them. It is most evident when he willingly went into an unknown foreign planet in search of the missing Dragonborn.

Compared to Alduin, Odahving has a better sense of morality, preferring precise target strikes to wanton destruction. However, he had his own animal instincts as a dragon, so he is not reluctant to kill anybody who threatens him, as well as having a high opinion of his race. But in society, Odahving is somewhat like a Mister Nice-Guy, having very little trouble disguising himself among the humans unlike Alduin.

**Powers:**

**Shouts **– As a dragon, Odahving possesses a natural ability to learn and utilize shouts or Thu'um. He can also learn it from gods such as Alduin, through knowledge transfer. Odahving is noted to be most familiar with the Fire Breath, the Ethereal, Whirlwind Sprint and the Call of Valour Shouts, making him a great supporter and also hard to kill. However, there are some shouts Odahving cannot learn, such as the call of Resurrection that Alduin uses.

**Adaptability** – Odahving is a particularly hardy survivor and his surviving instincts are somewhat spot-on. He made the right choice to help and then join the Dragonborn and was also very good at understanding the humans and then blending in with them.

**Dragon's Strength – **Odahving has abnormally large strength as a dragon, thanks to his red dragon heritage. As a human, this strength is also inherited, though more at a human scale.

**The Bookworms' Knowledge –** Odahving likes to read and this makes him smarter and more knowledgable than most dragons. If Odahving comes to your planet, it is very likely that he will understand more about your planet than you do in less than a month.


	22. Alduin 18

The next day during class break...

"Have you found his whereabouts yet?" Alduin asked Odahving, who was wearing a long-sleeved red turtle-neck and the same bronze-colour jeans with the blazing red pattern. The two were in the classroom, where they were the only ones left inside.

"Nope." Odahving sighed. "It seems like every human in this academy has met the sword of legend before and yet they don't seem to be too awe-inspired by him..."

"What?"

"Everytime I asked about him, they would show a face and then tell me to stop the search. Can't you believe that? It's like they don't want us to find him. And the face. It's hilarious."

"How hilarious?"

"Let me show you." Odahving cleared his throat as Alduin watched his demonstration, sighing how a mere face could be funny. Then within the next minute, Alduin burst out laughing.

Odahving had his eyes, which were squinted to their maximum, looking to his extreme right as his brows were scrunched up, with the ends lower than the tips. It created several visible face lines on the nose bridge and forehead area. But the mouth was even worse. It was shaped in a sort of trapezium, with the right lower-edge of it being more pronounced than the rest, forming an unusual and funny L-shaped line around that area.

"Hahahahahaha!" Alduin tried to contain himself. "Oh...mortals and their facial muscles...hahaha..." Alduin gestured Odahving to stop. "You mean humans, right?" Odahving asked, as he grinned uncontrollably.

"Yes, mortals."

"Humans." Hearing this, Alduin lost his cheery laughing face and he gazed at Odahving threateningly.

"Alright, Odahving, I get it. We are mortals ourselves." Alduin sighed as he laid back on his chair. "Just how can we find Excalibur?"

"I think I can help you with that..." Alduin and Odahving turned to the voice to see Death the Kid at the classroom entrance. This time, Kid was alone, but he had a book in his hands. "Here..." Throwing the book to Odahving, Kid seemed to be pleased to be rid of it.

Looking at it, Alduin and Odahving saw the title. Excalibur. "Thanks. How did you find this?" Alduin asked Kid.

"Let's just say...I had some personal experience." Alduin watched as Kid made the same face before walking away. "Personal experience?" Alduin and Odahving shared questioning looks.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea..." Odahving was about to suggest but Alduin cut him off. "No, this is the plan that Father had specifically wanted. I need to know more about the Sins and Virtues first. Else, we would have to take Paarthurnax's bait and kill off all the humans. I doubt you would want that..."

"No sir. The humans are a fascinating people. Killing them off like that is a true waste of great potential."

"I can't argue about that. So we have no choice but to take whatever risks to find Excalibur..." Opening the book, Alduin and Odahving nodded to each other as they highlighted the sword's supposed location. "Time for a hiking trip, Odahving..."

**3 hours later...**

"How much longer?" Alduin swore as he nearly slipped in the knee-deep water of the cave.

"Not much." Odahving tried to prevent the book from getting wet from water dripping form the overhead stalagmites. "We should be able to find the sword in the holy stone soon."

"Good. Guess scaling mountains and braving water-falls and going through a forest would be so much easier if I have my old wings back." Alduin cursed his human body as he drank up some water from his bottle.

"Wait!" Odahving's hand suddenly sprung out, blocking Alduin from moving forward. Unfortunately, the hand also hit Alduin's bottle and the black-haired boy nearly choked on the water. "Caah! Gahh! What was that for?"

"Do you hear that?" Perking up his ears, Alduin then noticed what Odahving was talking about. It was very faint, almost light, but it was unmistakable flap of wings. These wings seem to be very small and are beating at the rate of a hummingbird.

Almost immediately after, a wisp of light zoomed out of the dark corners of the cave, whizzing around Alduin and Odahving. "What the-"

Caught off guard, Alduin was about to shout the whole cave apart before Odahving stopped him. "Don't shout. It's just a fairy." Retracting his nearly-shot shout, Alduin squinted his eyes as he made out the fairy-like silhouette in the light.

"In the name of the gods, come down here! And put out that darn light!" He roared at the wisp. Obediently, the fairy flew down in front of Alduin and Odahving, the aura of light fading to reveal her tiny body.

Before he was about to spout out more orders at her, Alduin felt a hand on his shoulder. "Let me deal with this, Alduin." Odahving patted his shoulder assuringly as he stepped forward.

"Dear Ms. Fairy, we come in search of the sword Excalibur. Do you know where it is?"

For reasons unknown, Alduin could barely make out the same face as Kid's appearing on the fairy. "What's wrong with her?" He thought as the fairy reluctantly nodded.

"Great!" Odahving cheered. "Take us to it."

Lighting up again, the fairy began to fly away, with Odahving and Alduin hot on its heels.

After ten minutes or so of struggling through the water in their chase of the fairy, Alduin and Odahving found themselves in a more lighted section of the cave. And right in its center was a piece of land, untouched by the water. And right in the center of that land was a glowing golden broadsword. Its intricate angelic hilt and its blade with a cross design on it made it seem holy. Not even a scratch could be found on it. There was even light shining down from a hole above, as if the gods were blessing the Sword of Legend.

"Excalibur..." Alduin murmured in awe. He remembered about the great sword of legends and victory, tales that his father had shared with him. "Yeah..." Odahving, also as entranced, followed Alduin as the two got right beside the sword. They were so awe-struck by the holiness that they didn't notice the fairy hurriedly leaving, as if she couldn't stand the things presence.

"Now I know a mere sword can't write a book. Show us your true form, sword of legend." Alduin gave a respectful knock on the blade. The two could feel air began to vibrate around them as the sword glowed even more brightly. Quickly standing back, Odahving were almost ready to kneel to it while Alduin, despite his immortal pride, was ready to bow instead.

A deep, rich voice then filled the room. "Welcome, young ones. Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I am...EXCALIBUR!"

Light began to pour in bucketloads out of the sword, blinding both Alduin and Odahving. As the two covered their eyes, they knew that something magical was happening to the sword. Even more magical were the trumpets blowing in the background, fitting music for the arrival of such a sacred sword.

As soon as the light disappeared, Alduin and Odahving opened their eyes.

"Wow..." Odahving murmured as the two looked on at Excalibur's true form.

Excalibur was a lot shorter than his sword form and his body was a complete white. He had no mouth, no ears, just two ears on the sides of his very flat-looking head and a very pointy, upturned nose. Count the long top hat and it seemed like his head was a banana. The creature also had an unusual body, where it had no hands and very long feet, like that of a rabbit's. Worse of all, he wasn't wearing any pants and was wearing the top half of a white tux. In his hand was an equally white cane, which he occasionally spun about.

"Lame..." Alduin continued.


	23. Alduin 19

"You're the sword of the legend..." Alduin couldn't help but feel his mouth twitch as he tried to hold back a laugh. Odahving was also trying to cover his attempts to control himself as the two gazed upon the funny-looking creature that is supposedly Excalibur.

"So lame..." Alduin blurted out as Odahving began to lose control of his giggling.

However, their response seemed to struck a nerve in the creature and before he knew it, Alduin found a white cane staring right at his face. "Then I shall ask you this. Where are you from?" Excalibur asked.

"My name is Aldui-" Alduin was about to answer before he was suddenly interrupted

"My legend begins in the 12th century. You look like meisters, from your looks. Where do you hail from?" With the last sentence, Excalibur shoved the cane back into Alduin's face, prompting an anger mark on Alduin's forehead.

"Don't shove that thing in my face..." Alduin pushed the cane aside.

"We're from Death Weapo-" Odahving was next to speak but was quickly cut down.

"Oh yes! I have something interesting to show you!" Excalibur interrupted cheerfully as he turned and began to walk away. "Don't ask if you don't want to listen...," Alduin threatened him from behind, growing more annoyed. "What's up with the guy?"

"I wonder what's he gonna show us..." Odahving groaned.

Then at that moment, the cane came back into Alduin's face. "DO you want to hear about my legend?"

"Get that cane out of my face!"

"You wish to know of my epic tale?"

"Move that cane, bastard..." Alduin cursed as he glared at the tiny creature that was now daring to cross him.

"Where do you hail from?" Excalibur asked the same question.

Pushing the cane back, Alduin roared at the white annoying entity. "Idiot! We already said that we are from the Academy!" But the cane soon came back to his face.

"What's your favourite number from 1 to 12?" Push cane away again.

"Huh? 1 to 12?" Alduin and Odahving thought for a brief moment.

Alduin: "0! It's the only number that cannot be controlled."

Odahving: "2! Cause I'm always second-in-command."

Almost immediately, Excalibur burst. "FOOLS! You have no right to choose! My legend begins in the 12th century."

"You said to pick the one we liked..." Alduin sighed, more anger marks appearing on his head.

Excalibur then pointed his cane at Alduin again. "Don't you want to know about my legend?"

Looking down the cane at the silly little creature, Alduin could feel his eye twitching and his teeth gritting in anger. "Stop screwing around, freak!"

"My legend begins in the 12th century." Excalibur seemed to remembering something. Alduin and Odahving listened, the former almost ready to pummel the guy.

"My mornings always start with a fresh cup of coffee." Excalibur gave a sigh of joy.

"I continue the day with a fresh cup of herbal tea."

"And at night..." This time, Alduin got the chance to interrupt, as he was now pissed enough to disregard the creature.

"Let me guess, you drink beer. It fits a real jeezer like you.."

"FOOLS! Obviously I start my nights by changing into pajamas!"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Alduin sighed as his fist clenched, its veins beginning to show.

Odahving: "That really doesn't have anything to do with..."

"FOOLS!" Interrupted again. "Do you know of my hat?"

"Why the hell should I know?" Alduin glared at the creature, whose banana face seem to show no emotion at all.

"I know it's made of silk, according to the book."

"FOOLS!" 4th time. "Since your simple-minded minds don't know, I will enlighten you!" Using his cane, he pointed at his hat. "The longer the top hat, the greater!"

Alduin retorted back. "In other words, you are saying you are..."

"FOOOOOLLS! I said tophat!" Excalibur seemed to be smiling to himself as he began to dance, twirling his cane.

"What a monstrosity..." Alduin felt himself nearing breaking point as he began to step closer towards the creature. "You know you are insane? Jeezer..." He murmured.

"I know I would confuse mere peasants like you..." Excalibur replied smugly.

"Annoying..."

"Huh?" Excalibur turned to see Alduin towering over him, looking thoroughly enraged.

"Too freaking annoying..."

"FOOL! You will never understand my charm..." Excalibur was completely unaware of what Alduin was about to do to him.

"Charm? Oh I'll show you charm..." Alduin then kneeled down as he looked face-to-face with the creature. Then he sucked in.

"FO!" With this Shout, a torrent of ice and wind blew out of his mouth and swarmed over the surprised Excalibur, engulfing him from view. The frost breath caused the cave's temperature to drop as Odahving shivered.

A few seconds later, the creature turned into a block of ice, frozen solid.

"Ha...ha...ha...I finally...shut him up...That should put him in his place..." Alduin snorted triumphantly as he got up, while Odahving moved up to defrost the now frozen sword of legend, apologizing to him at the same time.

**5 minutes later...**

"FOOLS! I must have a cup of coffee..." Alduin sighed as he gave a cup to the alien-looking creature, who was now wrapped in a towel, shivering. "Slurp!" Excalibur indulged himself into the coffee.

"So, Mr. Sword of Legend, how did you manage to get to Nirn anyway?" Odahving passed the book to Excalibur, who looked at it for a very brief while. Next, he used it to Excalibur Chop Alduin.

"What the hell was that for?" Alduin roared as he was about to unleash another Frost Breath at Excalibur.

"FOOLS! The book was made within an entire second!"

"Huh?"

"I knew pea-brains like you won't understand. Before, I was being used by King Arthur of old and one day we accidentally created a spatial-time rift. I was sent into that rift and came out a second later. However in truth, I stayed in Nirn for a year. The distortion merely wrapped the amount of time that flowed." Alduin and Odahving gawked in shock as Excalibur seemed to crying.

"Ah...the memories. I was so much more prouder with King Arthur..."

"Urm...you need a tissue?" Alduin offered, only to receive a cane in the face.

"FOOLS! You say that you are from Nirn?"

Alduin and Odahving nodded. Excalibur sighed as he retracted his cane. "Don't think I didn't notice, God Alduin...Your soul wavelength can't hide who you really are..."

"How...?"

"Maybe I am the fool. But such an insanely large wavelength has become noticed by all the strongest people in the world. You were just a child when I visited Nirn. Your father Akatosh was the cleverest fool I ever met."

"Well thank yo...wait a minute!" Alduin, now pissed at the insult, was about to burn the whole cave down but Odahving calmed him down, speaking to Excalibur at the same time.

"So, Excalibur, do you know about the Sins and Virtues?"

"What do you mean? The 14 stones of your world?"

"Yes."

"FOOLS! The stones will only work if they are ever needed. I don't think Asura would be enough to even warrant one of them."

"We are not fighting Asura. We are fighting Chaos."

"Chaos?" Excalibur blinked for the first time. "Fools!" he said again. "You should be fighting two not one!"

"What?" The two dragons questioned in unison.

"Chaos and Order. Sins and Virtues."

"Order?" Alduin thought back to his memory flash.

"The counterpart of Chaos and the eternal enemy of your world's Daedra. The Benevolent Dictator." Excalibur slurped down his coffee. "Coffee please." Odahving complied.

"Tell me how the stones work." Alduin huffed as he restrained himself once again.

"The stones come in two sets: the Sins and the Virtues. The stones were used as a sort of contest between the Divines and the Daedra. They decree whether the next ages will be golden or dark."

"You mean, they can make the world suffer a lot or prosper."

"Fool! I said golden or dark. Can't you tell the difference?" Excalibur sighed as his outburst receded. Soon he began to hum to himself.

"Find the Sins and the dark comes. Find the Virtues and the golden comes. Find both at the same time and the balance arrives."

"Balance?"

"Fools! Don't interrupt me when I am humming!"

"That doesn't help..." Odahving muttered to Alduin. "We want to protect the world from threats, not decree a new age. Besides, if Chaos or this Order you said to exist succeed, then there won't be a new age. There will be a new universe."

"Fools! Then how about this? Chaos loves sins and Order loves virtues. Does that help?"

"So you mean that the set of Sins can destroy Order and the set of Virtues can destroy Chaos?"

"Are you such an idiot?" Excalibur knocked Odahving on the head. "Destroying two super-entities will destabilize the entire dimension. No, the stones are meant to just make them agree that the universe does not need their interference, thus sending them back to sleep."

"Oh..." Odahving nodded in agreement while Alduin wondered how his companion was able to deal with all the "Fools" and annoying behavior with such a calm head.

"But remember this: There can only be one of anything. You can only use one of the sets unless by some impossible chance that you find both sets at the exact same time." Throwing the towel aside, Excalibur then transformed back into his sword form and placed himself back into his place.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have many more fools to attend to." Odahving and Alduin watched as the sword then lost its active glow and now was back to the way it was inside the cave.

"C'mon let's leave the mad sword behind. Sword of legend, my ass!" Alduin huffed as he stomped out of the cave. "I wonder if I can use the sword?" Odahving thought as he looked at Excalibur.

"Nah, it's impossible. I've always never been the chosen one, just the second-in-command." Laughing at his own wishful thinking, Odahving quickly ran after Alduin, who was roaring about how he will kick the sword's butt(if it had one) the next time he see it.

**So while Alduin has an unusual immunity to Chops, Odahving seems to have an unusual immunity to Excalibur's behavior. Maybe I should pair them up. What do you think? Please review.**


	24. Alduin 20

"So I see that you have met Excalibur?" Maka smiled innocently as she tried to stifle a giggle at Alduin's face. "The Excalibur face...Pfft...Hahahahaha!" Soul laughed uncontrollably at it, earning himself a deadly Maka Chop.

"He wasn't so bad..." Odahving muttered awkwardly before Alduin interrupted. "FOOLS! FOOLS! That idiotic little creature is getting on my nerves even now!"

Kid showed his own Excalibur face."You that pissed? You are burning up again.."

"Huh?" Alduin gasped as he found himself being engulfed in the same black flames and lightning. "Damn it!" He swore as he suppressed it. "Ever since the incident, this thing keeps happening to me."

"Maybe it's just that your Soul is telling to use it more often..." Maka thought out loud. Alduin looked at his hands. "You sure about that?" He shook his head. "I can't risk such a thing..."

"Sooner or later, you have to. Just like Maka and I and the Black Blood. It is impossible to avoid using the power." Soul patted Alduin reassuringly.

"But let's worry about that later. So the old jeezer says that this crest is one of a set?" Black Star gazed at the white Humanitas crest in wonder. "I don't get it..." Everyone face-palmed at his stupidity.

"So now we know that we just need to find the Virtue set right? I mean, Chaos is the main threat. Order doesn't seem so bad..." Maka turned to Odahving for an answer.

"Not necessarily..." Odahving shook his head as he put down the book he was reading. "In history, one's who have absolute order are known as the dictators. Absolute order equals power. And power corrupts. That was what Order became. The Benevolent Dictator. An entity that claims to bring a golden age by remaking the universe in his one image, his one order, his one way. And with all the conflicts and differences in the universe, it's highly unlikely he will even accept it without the Virtues."

"So we are fighting two superpowers? I don't like the odds." Liz shivered as her eyes became swirly-whirlies in terror.

Soul nodded in agreement. "And if the jeezer was right, then the best method to find them at the same time. Isn't that a bit impossible...?"

"And we don't even know where the rest of them would be..." Alduin hung his head.

"Erm..." Odahving looked at the absurb depression around. "Not to break the very UN-happy atmosphere..." Odahving gasped as Black Star punched another hole into the wall. His teeth chattered as he saw the concrete fragments fell off one by one.

"WHY MUST THE MEETING PLACE BE IN MY ROOM?"

Maka and Tsubaki sweat dropped as they watched the red-themed boy join in with the depression/sadness party. "It really feels like we have 4 Cronas with us..." Maka sighed as Patty cheered Black Star on in his wall-punching.

"Tsk...what to do?" Alduin scratched his head in frustration.

"How about this? Why were there words on the crest?" Tsubaki meekly suggested. Silence followed as she felt the eyes of the gang all on her. "Maybe I got it wrong..."

"No..." Maka and Odahving murmured. "Ninja girl, you are a genius!" Odahving proceeded to hug her in joy.

"What?" Alduin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you see? Fo and Kan: Frost and Kyne. It's probably refers to a place. Maybe a snowy place with animals in it?" Odahving thought to himself.

"You sure that would be it? Besides there are so many places like that, pinpointing just one will be terribly hard."

"You're right..." Odahving sighed. "Unless of course, we are looking at a refrigerator. It has both ice and animals in it. That's probably absurb..."

Bang! Everyone turned to see a woman suddenly slamming open the door. She was dressed in a lightning-theme dress and had a distinctive lightning crest eye-patch over her right eye. She had long brown hair that reached her shoulders and it seemed a mess.

"Finally! I found you Maka! Something just fell into my refrigerator!"

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

**In Marie's room...**

"Jiiiiii..." Everyone stared at the smashed-up remains of what was supposed to be refrigerator. Instead it looked like it had just gone through a trash compactor twice. "Marie-sensei..." Maka and company all looked at the one guilty for pulverizing the machine. In her shock, she had overreacted and...well...you already know.

"Looks like the stone is still in there..." Odahving sighed as he pulled off the metal layers with Alduin's help. The crest was now moving uncontrollably, as if it was reacting to a nearby kin.

"There it is..." Alduin, mustering his strength, yanked the now metamorphosing stone out of the its jammed position. Then, the Humanitas crest began to jump at the other stone, as if it was fighting it.

"Looks like we have a Sin..." Maka ran up and split up the two stones as if they were two toddlers fighting over a milk bottle. As the new stone finished its transformation, Alduin felt a sudden wave of energy began to drain from him as he struggled to hold onto the new crest. It had the shape of a worm-like creature, curled up around its tainted green crystal.

"Don't tell me Greed...Avarice..." He moaned as he dropped the crest and the power drain stopped. At this moment, everyone save Maka began to grab their chest and start coughing.

"What the heck?" Soul felt his black blood began to leave out of his skin.

"No way..." Kid gawked as he felt his dark Shinigami powers prepare to leave.

"It's...taking away our...greatest strengths..." Black Star coughed as his electrical Soul Force began to act up.

Marie's room, which was, like her, lightning themed, began to become influenced by the presence of the Greed crest, as the lightning bolts on the walls turned into writhing worms and leeches, slipping out of their position on the wall, nearing the group. Bodily fluids began to leak out of their heavy, unsteady bodies. Their breath filled the room with noxious gas, which further sapped everyone. Except for Maka.

Maka, looking helplessly at the group strewn about her, then felt as her hand began to burn. "OUCH!" She yelled as she let go of the Humanitas crest. Almost immediately, the creatures screamed and squirmed away from its new white glow. In another intense burst, the whole of the group was washed in its blinding light.

As the aura of light began to disperse, everyone then felt as if a sense of relief had gone through them and they gasped and coughed, their lives sucked right out of them. Alduin, pushing himself up, stumbled as he grabbed the two crests, which had become inactive. "What just happened...?"

"We've just been saved..." Maka tried to calm herself. "Oh...I don't feel so cool now..." Soul shook his head as his Black Blood began to rest once again.

"That was...terrifying..."Marie looked at everyone in concern. "Maybe you should all go to the doctor's..."

"No...we're fine..." Odahving gazed at Alduin. "Alduin?"

Everyone turned to look at Alduin. "What?" He looked back with questioning eyes. Then he looked at the crests. That was when he noticed.

The Humanitas crest and the Avarice crest had activated once again but this time their respective light and darkness was being pushed back and contained by black electric flames curling around Alduin's hands. More importantly, Alduin could not feel any dark tendrils in his mind; not a single sign of madness advancing into it.

"I guess...your soul really wants you to use the flames after all..." Maka mused.

"Soul Force?" Black Star enquired as he produced his own electric crackling fists. But the differenve between his and Alduin's was much too great.

"Nope, not Soul Force." Everyone was shocked as Stein entered the room.

"That was Soul Focus. The compression of one's soul."


	25. Alduin 21

"Soul Focus. Death-sama's ultimate technique during his peak. Sit down." Stein gestured to Alduin to sit in one of the couches as he sped about his office on his office chair. "Now it should be here..." Stein rummaged through his own bookshelf, decked out with its own nuts and bolts, similar to his. His friends waiting outside, Alduin wanted to hurry this up.

Looking around, Alduin expected a Frankenstein's monster to appear but no such thing happen. Such crazy things had already proceeded today. One, Alduin and Odahving went off to meet with Excalibur. Alduin's face instantly morphed back into the Excalibur face once he thought of the annoying creature.

Two, as guessed somehow by Odahving, the second stone, or maybe the first Sin, Avarice, was found in a kitchen fridge. Three, the entire gang nearly got killed by it and four, he just learned that him bursting into flames was some technique called Soul Focus. Alduin wanted to get out quick, feeling worn and tired that he had to deal with all this. In his dragon body he could fly around the world 42 times without breaking a sweat. And now...

"Ahh here we are!" Alduin jumped up as an enormous book was slammed right onto the table in front of him.

"Oh no...not another book!" Alduin, his arms akimbo, refused to get near it. "Please do reconsider. After all, you are the student...and I'm the teacher."

"Listen...you screwed up piece of..."

"Why thank you!" Stein smiled as he began to screw his head up. "Now here..." Opening the book, Stein showed Alduin a picture.

"Is that...Death?" Alduin gawked at the figure in it. It had the same body physiology as Death but it was much more muscular and had a way scarier mask, fit for a Death God. And that was not all. The aura the figure permeated was showing black electric flames. Just like his own.

"The ultimate technique. The shield that had never been broken. The spear that has never been defeated. Soul Focus. With a large enough soul, one can have the ability to supercompress it. Literally causing the soul to create a physical form around its owner. The perfect offensive and defensive weapon."

"You got to be joking..." Alduin giggled to himself. "I mean, sure, I believe this technique exists. But are you sure you didn't get your mechanics wrong? A compression of soul? Please...How do I even know that this Soul of yours exist? It's just something you believe in. You can't actually see it..." Alduin then paused as he thought. "..can you?"

Stein nodded. "You can too. With a wavelength such as yours, it's a 100% absolutely certain you can see a living soul aura. Such as mine." With that last word, Alduin felt an intense pressure begin to grow around the room as the book's pages were flipped by the wind.

The shine in the good doctor's glasses blocked out his eyes and Alduin watched as he noticed a distinct green tint begin to form around the doctor. How did he not manage to see that just now?

"It seems you Soul detection needs some experience but yes, what you are seeing is my soul..."

Alduin gasped as he got up, avoiding the now very real, very observable green sphere that radiated around Stein. It had recognizable features on it, with its own screw inside it and stitching lines all over it.

"No way..." Murmuring, Alduin then widened his eyes as his own hands begin to burst into black electric flames and for the first time ever, he saw his own soul byspassing the ceiling. It was a very night-black soul, with two giant wings of a dragon. As it got smaller and came closer to him, Stein too began to notice it. To notice that it was becoming unstable.

"Concentrate! DON'T GET TOO CAUGHT UP WITH YOUR SOUL!" Stein yelled to Alduin. As the words entered his mind, Alduin immediately snapped out of his trance and managed to push back the attacking tendrils of madness in time.

With his mind clear, Alduin's own pressure intensified, blocking even Stein's. Raising his hand, Alduin then looked at his damned brother's shield bracelet. "I don't need your help, brother..." Alduin muttered inaudibly. "I will create my own SHIELD AND BLADE! MY OWN WEAPON!"

With a triumphant roar, Alduin burnt the entire bracelet off.

**In the Hall of the Divines,**

Paarthurnax leapt out of his sleep, trying to catch his surprised breath. "Impossible..."

**Back in the room,**

"Stein...I mean sensei, tell me what to do!" Alduin shouted as Odahving ran in, hearing the commotion. "What the...!" Odahving was pushed out soon enough.

"Read the book! Read the book!" Stein gasped as his own soul was now being pressured by Alduin's far superior one. His knees buckling, Stein crawled as he continued to fight against Alduin's dominance. "What a massive soul wavelength..."

"Uhhh...Let's see..." Alduin hurried as he tried to hold onto the book, willing the flames away from it.

"Imagine something that you need. That you treasure. That you love. And then will your power to do just that." Alduin can hear Death's voice from the book.

"Father..." He tried to think of his dad. His old man. With his always ever wise beard and his humble robes. The eyes that sparkled brightly despite his age. Then his mind raced to his fellow god-mates. Their cheerful celebrations and feasts. The dances they had. The joy they shared. The fun they obtained by helping the mortals. He wanted to protect all that. All of it.

Then he thought of his brother. Of Chaos. Of Order. Of the conflicts not just in Skyrim, but in Nirn, in between the Gods and the Daedra, in himself. The death-wrecking stench that would pollute the Divine Halls recently and rotting corpses of man in their everlasting fights. How his uncle Arkay, god of life and death, would complain all the time that the underworlds pile high with souls and ghouls. The sun that would be red and its lunar counterpart red too. The clouds would rain blood. The snow would bury the dead. All that. He wanted to destroy all of that. All of it.

And him. He stopped there. What did he want to do with himself? "_I was challenging you to find yourself."_ Those words. The words he had said so nonchalantly to Maka before. To challenge her to find herself. Then what about him? Is he evil? A dragon of destruction meant to be destroyed. Or good? A martyr who would willingly sacrifice his own life, even existence, to protect his family.

The magic stopped with the dilemma. As he snapped out of his thoughts, he felt a particularly dense cloud of flames beginning to gather on each arm. The words that came out of his mouth flowed so naturally. Like they were in his mind for so long.

"Arise to protect, shield of God's Love, Gospel!" Alduin proclaimed as he raised his left hand and the cloud cleared to reveal a new bracelet that promptly expanded into a draconic-like black shield with a style based on a dragon's head.

"And fall to destroy, sword of God's Wrath, Lucifer!" Almost immediately after the cloud dispersed, Alduin had no choice but to retract his shield as the huge dragon blade slammed onto the ground, creating a massive crater. It was clear where his feelings had been most intense. Focusing on his two hands, Alduin willed the blade to move and it did, though with much wrath and disobedience.

"Now that will be a bit of a pinch..." Alduin turned and almost instantly after, the blade made a bee-line for the recovering Stein. Dodging it, Stein mused as Alduin attempted to control the blade, now embedded into the wall. "What were you so angry at?" Stein furrowed his brows as he stepped away from Lucifer. At that comment, the blade seem to have taken it as an insult as it grew twice as wide and heavy.

"ARGH!" Alduin felt his lack of strength and he dropped the sword. Trying to catch his breath, Alduin attempted to communicate with his new sword but to no avail. Instead, the tendrils in his mind grew in strength as the staining dark anger from the sword intruded it. "Stop this..." He cursed but then in response, the blade then swiftly swung on its own and before he knew it, it was at his own neck. "Why won't you..." Then he gasped as his own shield sprung up from its bracelet form.

"I see..." The two weapons wanted to know the final answer. Does the master want to protect himself or destroy himself?

"Alduin!" Maka screamed as she ran into the room, with the gang hot on her heels.

"Don't!" Alduin yelled in desperation. Not at Maka. But at Lucifer.

It was heading straight for Maka. Straight for her head.

Alduin had no choice but to shout.

"TIL!"

**Yes! After reading through my own story, I finally got my motivation again! Thanks D for your review! So Alduin now holds a new blade and a shield but the blade is throwing a tantrum. And Maka is now in the middle of his warpath. And what shout did Alduin use? Then review if you want me to add the full name of the shout for you to read more easily.**


	26. Alduin 22

"Did you feel that? Hey I'm talking to you!"

"Leave me alone. I don't know how to deal with sudden energy bursts."

"Seems like a good soul to eat. Maybe we should try our luck."

"Again? Maka insists that we shouldn't meet with him yet."

"Ah! Maka this, Maka that. Think about yourself, you useless boy! Don't just go all lovey-dovey on her."

"Wha-? I'm not! Stop irritating me! I don't know how to deal with girls like her!"

"Besides, near the energy burst, I felt her Soul just metres beside it. How's that for a reason?"

"No...no...I got to save her..."

**Somewhere far away...**

"Huh?" Alduin pushed his exhausted human body up. His head felt like a mess. The last thing he could remember was Lucifer and Gospel. Shaking it, he looked around and then his jaw dropped. He was in some sort of plane of darkness and even he seemed to be walking on complete darkness. Everywhere around him was total utter black and the lack of smell, sound creeped him out. The lack of the wind against his skin felt like he was in some sort of vacuum.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Alduin turned to the disembodied voice. Its owner was no longer a mighty dragon. He looked more like a cross between a monster and a dragon with dark tendrils protruding and moving about of his skin.

"Paarthurnax!" Alduin roared as he charged at the dragon, Lucifer suddenly appearing in his hand. All the anger, the wrath, the frustration, all that pent up fury prompted the blade to exude an eerie energy coat.

"Yes...destroy me! Destroy me!" Paarthurnax laughed and mocked as Alduin ran closer and closer. The dragon's voice was now everywhere, the Voice that is always Heard. It spurred him, drove him, made him ever more determined to wipe off that devilish grin of his brother's face.

"YAAARGHH!" SWUNG! He did it.

He did it.

Alduin gawked as Paarthurnax's head rolled on the darkness floor. And when it came to a halt, Alduin felt his knees buckle, the sight before him shocking to the core.

The head had now turned into a man's head. A man so wise, so old, so great that Alduin would never try to kill him.

"Father..." Alduin's eyes then felt his tears well up as what used to be Paarthurnax's headless body began to flack off and reform. Right into the headless body of his beloved father. "No...no!" Screaming, he ran to his father's head, Lucifer now being abandoned by the side.

As he grabbed the head, Alduin pushed it against his chest, praying and wishing that he could save his father. His hands were now stained and warm with his father's gold blood. "Don't you die on me, old man!" Alduin howled, streaks of tears coming down his face.

"Disappointed..."

"Huh?" Alduin, eyes widened, watched as his father's head said it again. "Disappointed..."

"It's okay..." Alduin then felt a familiar hand on his back. He turned to see a friendly face. The face had red hair and the same hairstyle as Odahving.

"Odahving..." Alduin murmured and was about to cry at his side when he suddenly saw Lucifer creeping slowly behind Odahving's back. "NO!"

Shirk! Alduin's second-in-command now fell to the ground, headless. "No...not you too!"

That was when he noticed the others.

His god family, his dragon friends, Maka, Soul and company. All of them were coming closer to comfort him. Help him. Assist him. But he wouldn't have it. "Don't come any closer!" But Lucifer was merciless.

Shirk! Shirk! Shirk! One after the other, Alduin's most precious people now fell before him. Their heads rolled about, leaving their golden and red blood staining the darkness ground.

"Stop it! Lucifer! Stop it!" Alduin grabbed the rouge blade's grip and the two began to fight it out in a tug-of-war. But the blade remained defiant and soon enough, Alduin felt it pocking once again at his neck.

"I live to destroy and to serve."

"I live to protect and to serve."

Alduin jumped as Gospel appeared out of nowhere, now in the way of Lucifer.

"The spear that was never defeated."

"The shield that was never broken."

"When we clash, we will follow our master's final decree. The final directive."

"Master."

"Master."

Alduin gawked as both weapons now seem to be talking to him.

"There can never be two of anything."

"There can only be one of everything."

"And when the number that cannot be controlled is controlled."

"The world will plunge into chaos and order."

"The final directive."

"The final directive."

"Does Master want to be destroyed?"

"Does Master want to be protected?"

"Master destroys others. With a single stroke, he can spark the chain reaction that will kill many."

"Master protects others. With a single block, he can end the conflicts that plague the world."

"Why are you telling me this?" Alduin, regaining his composure, stood back up as the two weapons now waited his answer.

"We cannot be used together."

"We can only be used by ourselves."

"Remember."

"Remember."

The last words sparked something inside Alduin. Then he realized why he had to retract Gospel when Lucifer materialized. It wasn't because Lucifer was too heavy to carry with one hand. It was because like Chaos and Order, both weapons couldn't bear to be in the same plane of existence.

"I...I...I need some time." Alduin finally gave in, as the bodies of his fallen comrades disappeared.

"Time, Master?"

"Time, Master?"

"Yes! I need some time."

"Master, Madness threatens to engulf you."

"Master, Madness threatens to use you."

"Time is short."

"Time is short."

"SHUT UP!" Alduin gave a huge outburst, shocking the two weapons from continuing.

"You two insult me, a god of TIME! To tell me that time is short. I am your master! And you said that you live to serve. Serve me! And give me some more TIME!"

With this newfound rage, Alduin was shocked out of his anger as Lucifer broke right through Gospel.

"As you decree, my master."

"ARRRGGGGHHHH!" Alduin screamed as he jumped out of the stark white hospital bed. Trying to catch his breath, Alduin noticed that he was in the academy clinic.

"You're awake!" Alduin was suddenly startled by Maka who had been sitting beside him all the time. "Thank goodness!" Maka smiled as she innocently smacked Soul, who had been sleeping in one side, awake with her Chop. As always, it back-fired and now Soul was unconscious.

"What happened?" Alduin felt giddy as he tried to get out of bed. "Hold on!" Maka stopped him. "You need your rest! After all you just clashed with your own sword. And saved...my life..."

"I did?"

"Of course, you did! You used your Time Slow to catch up with the sword and then you activated the shield. Gospel, right? Looks like we found the answer to what happens when the unbeatable spear and the unbreakable shield meet."

"What do you mean?"

"The sword did its job and so did the shield. The sword failed to kill me but it managed to hurt you. The shield failed to protect you but it helped me survive. Guess you weren't very lucky..." Maka then went quiet. "Just don't do it again..."

"Why-"

"Just don't." Maka looked at the unconscious Soul. "I already have enough guilt with one person risking his life to save mine. I don't want...another..." Alduin backed away as he saw Maka beginning to cry.

"Hey! Hey!" Willing himself, he tried to comfort her. "It's alright...It's alright..."

"ALDUIN!" Alduin was suddenly shocked by the charging in of a certain red-haired boy. "When I felt that shiver down my spine, I instantly knew that it had to be you!" Then Odahving stopped as he saw what seemed to be Alduin hugging Maka.

Alduin looked awkwardly as Odahving began to point at him and then Maka. Then the two fingers began to form a heart.

"Don't get the wrong idea, you freaking idiot!" Alduin punched Odahving into the air in comedic chibi fashion.

Then Alduin heard a dog's bark. All of a sudden, a large German Shepherd jumped into the room, before bounding right into Alduin's arms, licking his shocked face.

"When did I order a dog?" Alduin glared at Odahving. But the fear in Odahving's eyes was not at Alduin. It was at the dog.

"Urm...Alduin...That dog is your weapon partner."

Alduin, eyes wide in realization, turned to look at the dog's innocent-looking eyes.

And on its collar was a golden dog tag.

A dog tag that said "Lucifer".

**Feel quite refreshed, writing this right after I woke up. So now Lucifer is Alduin's new weapon partner and it's a German Shepherd! Please review and relax. I will be now turning to my other story to help it catch up!**


	27. Alduin 23

"A dog..."

Everyone, now back in the meeting room of Odahving's, looked at their new energetic companion running around the room. It was a reasonably big German Shepherd, with brown and black fur and according to Stein, a very healthy canine body.

And there was no sign of the previous menace it was in its blade form.

"Are you sure this is Lucifer?" Alduin patted it as it neared him. The dog's innocent black eyes did not help to convince him about its identity.

"I am sure..." Odahving nodded as he grabbed the dog, careful not to touch its mouth. "That blade Lucifer turned right into this dog. And besides you definitely never ordered one, right?" Odahving's hands rubbed the dog's well-kept coat as Lucifer hummed in delight.

"What happened? In Stein's room?" Kid turned everyone's attention to Alduin. The boy was now shirtless, with a bandage at his side, marking his hit with Lucifer, and the bandage over his left hand, when he touched a freaking electric lamp.

"What happened? I was given a crash course on Soul Sight and Soul Focus. That's what happened..." Alduin felt tired once again as the dog began to bark and snarl.

"Calm down..." Maka reminded Alduin, breaking his annoyance. At the same time, the dog stopped its aggressive burst. Odahving sighed. "Lucifer has a telepathic connection with you...What you feel, he feels."

"Oh so now I have a freaking mood-ring in the form of a dog..." Alduin groaned as the dog once again growled.

"I think I need some time off..." Pushing himself out of the seat, Alduin stumbled out of the room, leaving everyone behind. With the dog hot on his heels, Alduin and his weapon partner were gone.

"What's wrong with him?" Black Star questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? He's scared about something." Soul snapped back. Odahving nodded in agreement. "Yes...I've never seen him this distracted before..."

**In the dojo...**

Alduin began to punch the dummy. His strikes were fast and quick. The form was perfect. It was like always. But it doesn't seem enough. Giving a roundhouse kick, Alduin still felt unsatisfied.

"What is wrong with me?" He yelled as he punched the wall in his frustration. The dream was still nagging at him. He chose destruction over protection. Looking at the bracelet, Alduin watched as Lucifer began to bark angrily at him.

Ignoring it, Alduin activated Gospel and the shield came into his hands. It wasn't broken. It was still as good as ever, not a scratch or dent on the black shield. It was the best shield he had ever seen, yet it still felt...lacking.

Turning to the dummy once again, Alduin then began to fight with the shield, with the dog's ferocious barks in the background. A bicycle kick followed by a shield bash. A horizontal shield sweep before a straight follow-up. A hook-kick followed by a shield pushover.

Panting and sweating, Alduin still felt that he wasn't doing enough. He wasn't doing enough.

Tired and frustrated , Alduin deactivated Gospel, which seemed to have calmed Lucifer down, and sat beside the dummy. "Am I really such a destroyer?" Alduin wondered as he watched Lucifer began to pounce on the dummy and attack it. As the dog rolled away from the dummy, it turned to face Aldous.

It was begging. Begging him to use it. To use the blade that nearly killed him and Maka.

"Just say the word." The dog seemed to be speaking to him.

Alduin gazed back at Lucifer as it awaited its master's call. After a minute of silent exchanges of stares, Alduin finally gave in.

Getting up, Alduin once again took his position facing the dummy. "Lucifer..." He whispered.

WOOF! The dog jumped in front of him before glowing a unnerving black. And before he knew it, the heavy weight of Lucifer was once again in his hands. And he still couldn't control it as the sword's blade slammed into the ground. It was still too heavy.

"Picture the thing you want to destroy..." A voice spoke to him. Alduin looked around, expecting someone around. But there was no one.

"And I will destroy it for you."

Realizing the voice's owner, Alduin gazed at Lucifer, its blade still embedded in the dojo floor. Then he gazed at the dummy in front of him. "Destroy that..." He thought.

The blade's reaction was instant. Almost immediately, the dummy was pulverized with a huge slash that blew a hole in the wall behind it. The speed of the attack was so fast that Alduin could barely register it.

But Alduin didn't feel any sense of achievement. "No...I want to control you..." Alduin thought back to Lucifer. But the blade suddenly grew heavy again and he dropped it. The blade was obviously defying him.

"Why! Why can't I use you?" Alduin shouted at the now silent inert blade. "Why can't I just swing you like any normal sword?" Alduin roared at it but Lucifer showed no response.

"Alduin?" Alduin turned to see Maka coming in from the door. "You okay?" Alduin felt a shiver went down his spine and he grabbed Lucifer at its grip.

"NO! NO! You will not do that AGAIN!" he scolded the blade's dark intentions. Then he pushed Lucifer deeper into the ground, hoping to jam it from coming up to attack Maka.

"Are you...unable to synch with Lucifer?" Maka began to get closer.

After satisfied with the sword's seemingly trapped state, Alduin could finally answer back. "Yes..no...I mean maybe..." Alduin shook his head in frustration. It was a mess ever since the dream. Giving a heavy sigh, Alduin sat beside Lucifer, watching it.

"Well, you won't synch with your weapon by pushing it down into the ground..." Maka smiled as she sat beside him.

"I don't want to..."

"But...it's powerful..."

"It's powerful and it tried to kill both of us..."

"Maybe because you were angry..."

"Angry?" Alduin turned to look at Maka. The girl didn't seem to be mocking him. "Maybe you just need to accept it for what it is..."

"Accept? Accept a weapon that just kills and destroys without a second thought?"

"You shouldn't put it that way...You shouldn't try to control a blade that has a defiant nature. Just like how Soul and I fight together. Pull it up and then work with the sword. It might just work."

"Why are you so sure?"

"I had a friend once. He had experienced both sides of the coin. He had a dominating weapon in the beginning. That nearly caused him to lose his soul. But when he started fighting with the weapon, it also never worked out. It was only when the two worked in tandem did they even become stronger than the gang. So since someone else manage to do it, how about you, time traveller?"

Alduin was reluctant at first but as he saw Maka's all-knowing smile, he decided to take his chances.

"Lucifer..." he whispered, stretching out his hand, and the sword lunged its way out of its position in the floor. The sword levitated closer and closer and Alduin, his hand shivering in anticipation, wrung his fingers around it. For the first time, he allowed himself to open to the blade and he finally noticed how it really looked like.

It was like a giant claymore, with its blade clearly different. The blade was that of a cleaver, with its shape a somewhat distorted triangle. The end parallel to the hilt had its sharp point bending towards Alduin if he held the blade's tip right away from him. The back of the blade was not just sharp, but it was straight almost all the way until it ended with a small crescent curve. The blade's own black hilt had the wings of a dragon occupying most of the blade's width and the grip ended with a dragon head, uncannily similar to Alduin's.

"Stand back, Maka..." he warned as he began to slowly lift himself back up his feet, ensuring that the blade remained in his firm grip. The tendrils of madness now seem to be screaming in his mind as Lucifer begun to intrude into it.

"Cut them down..." He ordered and within seconds, the screams died down with the mental version of the blade during its job.

Allowing Lucifer to enter deeper and deeper into his mind, Alduin began to prepare a practice swing.

"Awaiting your orders..."

"Swing!" In compliance, both Alduin's and Lucifer's bodies moved as one as Maka watched Alduin execute a controlled swing. Despite his control, the blade still packed a punch as the ground shook with that single movement.

"Good job!" Maka cheered but quickly silenced herself. Alduin's forehead was now beginning to be full of sweat as he continued to tolerate Lucifer. Start with the basics, he assured himself.

A thrust. Another swing. A roll and counter. A block. A double slash. A 360 heave-swing. A blade whack.

All the motions became to come together as Maka watched from the sidelines, amazed by the steady progress Alduin was now having. "Hey what's up?" Oops, concentration broken. Black Star watched as Alduin once again dropped the now very heavy blade.

"BLACK STAR!" BANG! Looks like someone got on the wrong end of Maka's wrath.


	28. Alduin 24

"Ahhh..." Tsubaki sweat-dropped as she watched over the unconscious Black Star, who had a very familiar book-shaped indent in his head. "He'll be fine..." Stein assured as he rolled around the medical room on his chair.

Outside, Maka still had the evil look on her face as she brandished her book angrily. "Damn that idiot...he interrupted your training..." Alduin shook his head in resignation as he patted Lucifer, who wagged his tail in some sort of drunken happiness.

"Don't get so worked up about it..." Alduin assured her. Then, the duo notice Soul rounding the corner. He seemed to be in a hurry, his face beady with sweat.

"I finally found you!" Soul turned to them.

"Me?" Maka and Alduin said in unison, then looked at each other. "Him?" "Her?" Lucifer tilted his head in wonder.

"I mean, Maka!" Soul quickly settled the confusion. "It's him...He's back!" Soul hurriedly reported, with great emphasis on 'him'.

Maka, eyes widened in realization, quickly grabbed Soul as he turned into weapon form. "Alduin, we better go!"

"What about Black Star?" Alduin pointed to the boy inside. "We don't have time!"

"Lucifer, come on!" Alduin ordered his dog as the two followed Maka down the academy stairs.

Just as they got to the Academy entrance, the scream came.

It was a very high-pitched, deafening scream and Alduin covered his ears as a splitting headache overwhelmed him. Even Lucifer used his furry paws to try to cover his own ears. The scream seemed to be coming from the city below the Academy.

"What in the world..."

Maka whispered under her breath, as she began to run even faster. "Crona..."

"Hey wait up!" Alduin tried to catch up with her. "Who's Crona?"

"A very old friend of mine."

"Then why is Soul transformed? What's the hurry?"

"He's too early...He only comes here on a specific day of the week and the rest of the time he is usually on missions."

"Then what's wrong with that? He's just came a little early that's all."

"You don't understand. The only time Crona would ever do this is when..."

Maka skidded to a halt. Alduin too followed and he gawked as he saw that they are in a church. But the church's windows had all been shattered and Alduin couldn't shrug off the hair-raising dark auro coming from within. Suddenly Odahving and Kid appeared out of the church as they began to push back whatever was inside it.

"When he is troubled..." Maka clenched her grip around Soul. "Hey, Maka. Calm down..." Soul's voice reached out to her. Alduin stood at the side, looking on as she hung her head.

"Soul...let's go..." Maka whispered to him. "Stand back!" Alduin complied while she readied Soul.

"SOUL RESONANCE!"

Alduin gawked as a pressure began to form around the blonde girl. Then within seconds, Maka gritted her teeth, bringing Soul over her shoulder. "Witch Hunter!"

Alduin dodged back as Soul's scythe blade was suddenly engulfed in a crystalline-like light. The blade extended to form a crescent moon around Maka and it even had a red eye at the point where the blade and the pole meet.

"A Soul Resonance technique that uses amplification to increase attack power. Pathetic..."

Alduin turned to listen to whoever was talking but there was no one there.

"Did you hear that, Lucifer?" The dog tilted its head, as if it didn't. "Must be my imagination..."

"Kid! Odahving! Move out of the way! I'm going in!" Maka yelled at the two as Odahving unleashed another Frost Breath at whatever was inside. "Damn it, girl! Your friend in there is nasty!"

"Just get out of the way!" Maka ordered before she began a headlong charge at the church doors.

YAHHHHHH! Another ear-piercing scream rang through the city, forcing Alduin and Odahving to cring in pain. Maka then gasped and skidded to a halt as Soul began to change back into his normal scythe mode.

"No way...the scream...deresonated them..." Kid could now feel the effects as the scream increased in intensity and wave frequency. Even the houses nearest to the church now had their windows now vibrating furiously, before shattering into several pieces.

"What do we do?" Alduin thought. "Even Maka seems to be

"Fight."

"Huh?" Alduin heard the voice again. Then he gawked as Lucifer glowed. "It was you..."

Sure enough, the dog morphed into its sword form once again. The sword then promptly created a barrier of electric black flames around it and Alduin. Alduin then felt that the scream had lost its effect on him.

Hesitant at first, Alduin grabbed the sword and begin to run past Maka, who screamed at him. "Don't face him like that! Urghh..." Even she now was crumbling under the scream pressure.

"Alduin, come back here!" Odahving roared before he once again succumbed to the pain.

"Forget them...Fight." The sword whispered to him. And he obliged.

Alduin took a deep breath as he pushed the doors open and entered the church.

The church was like any other church, with rows of chairs and at the end, an altar and an organ. The once painted windows had all been obliterated by the scream's power. And the one called Crona was standing in the center of the room, where the chairs had been blown away and the ground cracked at several places.

Crona was a meek-looking boy. That was the first thing that Alduin thought. He had pink-purple hair and he had some sort of black monk's shirt, with the sleeves being far too big for his small arms. A white large collar was around his neck and with the shirt, he had combat pants that felt out of place on such a unconfident person.

"Ohhh...you managed to break through..." Crona seemed to be say with a tinge of shyness and confusion. "How should I deal with you?"

"You can start with stopping that scream of yours!" Alduin snapped back as he attempted to synch up with Lucifer. However, the scream continued to disrupt the connection needed.

"Scream?" Alduin then gasped as something like the eye of the storm seemed to have settled around the church and the scream had stopped. But when he turned to look, Odahving, Kid and Maka were still crying out in pain outside the church.

"Isolation of the scream..." Lucifer explained to him in his dark, somewhat rich voice.

"You know that door only goes in, not out."

"Wha-"

"This is where I met Maka for the first time. It brings back good memories." Crona smiled as he looked to the sky.

"Good memories...Like when you flip up her skirt!" Alduin jumped, mouth open in shock as something pushed its way out of Crona's back. A fountain of black blood began to stream out, before hardening into an unusual looking muscular creature with crazy-looking eyes and funny glove hands. All this while, Crona seemed to be showing no pain despite the creature popping right out of his back.

"On guard. It's his weapon..." Lucifer warned.

"That was you, Ragnorok!" Crona pointed an accusing finger at his weapon partner.

"Hey...hey...don't get angry...Besides you were the one who got slapped..."

"Maybe...but don't make me think about how I should deal with you!"

"Alright! Alright! Geez, ever since you managed to make me into a Death Scythe, you gained a lot more confidence than before. I don't know whether I should puke or cheer at your growing maturity."

"Do that later..." Crona groaned. "Sorry about that..." He apologized with a bow, to the surprise of Alduin.

"Stay sharp!" Lucifer warned again.

Alduin retorted back mentally, "I know...that weapon is a Death Scythe...I know...I know..."

"No...I'm not just talking about that...The two in front of us possess a bond which is incredibly strong. It's like as if they had been together for all their lives."

"Your name is...?"

Alduin and Lucifer were suddenly interrupted by Crona. "Alduin...My name is Alduin..."

"And your weapon?"

No response. No surprise since Lucifer could talk to only Alduin via telepathy. "I guess I have to deal with one person huh?" Crona sighed as he raised a hand.

"Ragnorok!"

"Right on it!" Alduin stiffened his stance as the creature on the back begin to split into his liquid form again. Crona's hand then entered the black cloud, before pulling out a large massive broadsword. It was black with a cross design and slightly shorter than Lucifer, with its blade a standard broadsword blade. The blade also had a chain extension at its hillt, which connected to the black cloudy-looking gauntlet that has formed around Crona's lower sword arm.

Giving a practice swing, Crona then pointed it at Alduin. "Are you the owner of the giant soul?"

"Ummmm...yeah..."

"Did you try to kill Maka?"

"No I didn't!" Alduin shouted back as he realized why Crona was now battling him. Lucifer protested, "You're not seriously going to..."

"It's just a misunderstanding! We don't need to fight!" Alduin tried to explain, preparing to put down Lucifer and raise his hands in peace.

"IDIOT!" Lucifer screamed as it swung up to block an swift attack from Crona. Then, it swung back but Crona jumped out of the way in a blur.

"Don't ever put me down again!" Lucifer threatened as Alduin quickly grabbed the floating grip. "Now fight!"

"We don't need to do this..." Alduin tried to reason with Crona once more as he brought Lucifer to a level stance.

"I'll will deal with anyone who threatens Maka's life..." Crona muttered under his breath.

"Die..."

**So the battle between Alduin and Crona begins. And yes...Crona has grown a lot more in this version. Next Bio coming up: Black Star and Death the Kid. Please review!**


	29. Extras: Black Star and Death the Kid

**Bio Time!**

**Black Star**

**Name: **Black Star (with a star symbol in between the words)

**Aliases(Self appointed): **God; God-killer

**Race:** Human

**Position: **1-star Meister; Dark Weapon Set Meister

Biography:

Black Star is the last survivor of an old ninja clan, which was rumored to do anything for money, making them enemies in numerous places.He was taken to Shibusen after his father turned into a demon and was then killed by Mifune, a legendary samurai. This has led him to want to prove himself and as a result he developed a narcissist view of himself. In truth, this is just a façade he gives himself in order to have more opportunities to train and get stronger.

However, he does have his own annoying side due to this view. He likes to give badly written autographs to people and he claims that he will become god or even superior to god, much to the chagrin of an actual god Alduin. He constantly refers to himself as 'BIG' and the other people around him as 'small.' His arrogance later develops into a constant hunger for power, up until the point that people, aka Mifune, once had suspected that he may choose the 'Path of the Demon.'

This had once led to confrontations between them. Despite Black Star having last won against the samurai, he has yet to prove himself to be stronger. However, in the last confrontation, he declared that he will be following the Path of Himself. This is not just a product of his incredible arrogance but rather his desire to get stronger.

Of course, Alduin has yet to see that side of him though.

**Personality:**

Like stated before, Black Star has a huge amount of hubris and he takes it hard when people manage to defeat him. However, he can almost immediately bounce back up due to his almost inexhaustible source of confidence. He can be unobservant, and has a short attention-span and has a hate for bing told what to do.

That just makes him, like Soul, a slacker.

He often has an informal way of speech and behavior, even towards people of a higher rank than him. He loves playing practical jokes and winding people up for the fun of it. While this might be annoying to Maka and the cause of the many Maka Chops he receives, Black Star has a very positive and upbeat temperament which is undeniably makes him the cheerful one in the group and most of the time the joker.

**Powers:**

**Excellent**** Physical Fitness – **Black Star is incredibly fit, no doubt due to his constant training (like destroying the walls of Odahving's room). His agility and speed are almost to an incredible level, as he can run 100 metres in less than six seconds, jump from tree to tree, and dodge multiple attacks with ease. His endurance is also great, as well as his strength but his speed is most notable to make him the fastest student in the Academy.

**Combat Instincts** – Honed from the training in the Death Weapon Meister Academy and his own training, Black Star has an acute combat instinct that borders on near-clairvoyance and reflex. This makes changing weapons and stances almost natural to him.

**Weapon Expertise **– Unlike most meisters, Black Star's weapon, Tsubaki, is a weapon set, meaning she has different weapon forms. To make use of them fully, Black Star has to at least have some expertise in the different weapons.

**Soul Wavelength – **Black Star has been shown to be the only student to be able to use Soul Force. By resonating with one's own soul, one can drive their own Soul Wavelength directly into an opponent's body through a physical strike on them. Only people who have a strong Wavelength and the ability to manipulate one's own Wavelength, can use this move. He, much to his pride, has both.

**Death the Kid**

**Alias: **Shinigami; Death; KID (for symmetry)

**Race:** Death God

**Position:** Liz and Patty's meister; Death's son

**Biography: **

Kid is Death's son. That is quite obvious, since he is the only other Death God in the Academy.

Kid suffers from OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, which is manifested quite humorously as an obsession over symmetry. This is quite a headache to the group as he wants everything to be perfectly symmetrical. Even the generally more tolerant Odahving told Alduin once that he will twist Kid into a perfect circle if he has the chance. To Liz, this makes Kid look like a joke, while to Patty, she laughs at it most of the time instead.

Kid, unknowing to him, is actually draining Death's powers and strength the more he grows, all in order to make sure he is ready to take his place as Death. It is unknown how long this will take but seeing that Death has been alive for millennia, it might not be a matter to worry about yet.

Kid has never, not even once( for the entirety of the anime and the manga), spoken about his mother. This is indeed quite puzzling, since it seems quite impossible that Death, a Soul Reaper himself, would be able to create another Soul Reaper.

**Personality:**

Besides his obvious delusional and fanatical adoration of symmetry, Kid acts as the serious person of the group and also a loner for when the group go on adventures, he would usually separate and go on his own.

However, despite that, he doesn't appear to have any problem socializing and genuinely cares for his friends. Kid also has an anaylitical mind and is the fastest to catch on to things happening. He was the first in the group to find out that the original Kishin, Asura, was underneath the Academy's basement.

Kid also has, no doubt, pride as a Grim Reaper but he, unlike Alduin, has respect and friendliness towards humans, who are supposed to be lower beings compared to him. But the pride as mentioned before utterly disappears whenever Kid seems to have allowed something that is unsymmetrical. This leads to him insulting himself and virtually losing every ounce of his nergy, resulting in him sprawling on the ground, much to the annoyance of Liz and the amusement of Patty.

**Powers:**

**Shinigami Body** - Kid's body is that of a Shinigami, so many things that affect the human body are trivial to him. It also makes him tough and also strong, though whether stronger than Black Star is still up for debate.

**Lines of Sanzu** – The unusual half lines on Kid's hair can join into three full circles around his head, activating his innate Death God potential and making his attacks extremely powerful. It is unknown what impact it has on his basic attributes but it seems that in this mode, Kid's OCD has disappeared, showing at least a change in personality.

**Death Cannon **– Death the Kid's Resonance mode. It is a artillery-type mode that changes Liz and Patty into large cannons and when used they fire pairs of explosive balls of soul energy. When used with the lines, the cannon's form into a single golden rail-gun that fires a stream of destructive Soul Energy.

**Death God Martial Arts** - It seems that Kid and other Death Gods (If there are any other, excluding his dad.) are trained in this form of martial arts and it comes in the forms of stances that affect the Death God's power and speed. This makes Kid deadly when both close up and far away.

**Shinigami Powers** – While he does not use it as often as his father, Kid has the powers of a Death God, such as Skull arms and Konso, a technique that allows him to store a large amount of innocent human souls to take back to his father.


	30. Alduin 25

"How did he..." Paarthurnax cursed as he felt the bracelet come back to the center of his claws. The magical binding had been all but destroyed and even now blue magicka could be seen leaking out as the enchantment gradually ceased to exist.

"Looks like you are putting up a big fight, brother..." Paarthurnax's brown eyes frowned as he shouts a Fire Breath, obliterating the useless bracelet.

"So be it..." Paarthurnax growled as he waved his clawed hand. "It's time for you to know your place." He grinned while circles of runes and signs began to appear before him and the ground below them glowed a bright tainted white.

A few seconds later, a huge 'crank' could be heard, like the sound when one turns the key to open the lock. The circles now began to pulse in tandem with the ground and the white turned into black.

Then the circles were dispersed as a dragon, gray as the Graybeards themselves and his eyes an elderly green. It bowed before Paarthurnax, who scanned his new subordinate with deliberate respect.

It was after all a fine tool to him.

"_Ahzidal_! Bitter Destroyer! It is time for you to pay your old leader a visit!"

**Back in the church...**

**Alduin's POV:**

I quickly rolled out of the way as the sword came for my head. I gave an undersweep with Lucifer but the purple-haired boy simply stopped it with his own counter. I jumped back as the sword slipped over Lucifer and sliced the wall behind me.

I was already struggling with control with Lucifer but the boy has yet to break even a sweat. "TIL!" I shouted as the boy swung again. To my satisfaction, the boy's movements slowed down but it wasn't going to last.

Taking this chance, I used my hilt to smash the blade out of Crona's hand before bringing back my blade for another swing.

Just as I was about to allow Lucifer to take the swing, the Time Slow stopped. Ragnorok, if that is his name, dropped to the ground, much to Crona' surprise. But it was too late for him.

Lucifer went for the fatal strike.

But then I gawked. Lucifer was suddenly stopped by the boy's head. What the hell? I stepped back as I scanned whether Lucifer had became dull. He clearly had not.

It was like I was fighting a being made out of hard diamond.

"Such strikes are no use if you want to deal with me..." Crona touched his head and I gasped as his hand came back with blood on it. Black Blood.

"Bloody Needle..."

I heard a high-pitch voice coming from the sword and suddenly I noticed the chain between it and Crona's gauntlet.

"Get back!" Lucifer roared in my head.

I dodged out of the way as the chain changed shape to protrude several needles that pierce the spot I had been a moment ago.

"Not bad..." The boy, with his green dull eyes, seemed to be getting bored with the fight. He was starting to get on my nerves. The smell of the black blood didn't help.

The boy gave a pull on the chain, followed by another swing with the returned Ragnorok. I blocked with Lucifer, locking the guards together. The boy and I came face to face, his nonchalant look now turning into a glare.

I got him. "YOL!" I roared as the stream of fire poured out. The boy must have been shocked, as he jumped in an awkward manner but the fire was on him.

I thought the battle was over.

I thought too soon.

"Screech..." I readied my blade again.

"Resonance!" All of a sudden, the same scream came bursting forth, piercing my ears as I tried to shrug off the pain. It was like listening to the static sound a disconnected TV produces, only at a much higher pitch.

"Resist it! Guard!" Lucifer warned.

Despite my blurring vision, I knew what he was referring to. Crona's sword suddenly began to turn into some sort of liquid form. "Witch Hunter..." He whispered as he brought the sword in front of him like in a prayer, his eye giving me a crazy look.

"YAAHHHHH!" The scream came in full force and I could barely make out the sword shape-shifting right in front of us. But it was clear that it was Witch Hunter. The final product looked like the original sword, except that it's blade seemed to grow wider the further it is from the hilt. At the very end, a black crescent, this time with a mouth.

"Screech AlPHA!" Crona yelled as he gave the new sword a ground-to-up swing. I could barely react as a torrent of screaming energy came at us in breakneck speed, leaving the ground decimated.

It was Lucifer who saved me.

"ALPHA WOLF!" It yelled in my head as it briefly went out of control. Forcefully bringing it over my head, Lucifer gave a huge slash that created a electric black flaming apparition the shape of a large wolf. The apparition collided with the torrent just a meter from us, causing a huge explosion. The shockwave blew me away but I was still fine as I brought myself up once again.

The chairs were now a clear mess and the church looked as if tornadoes had come in. "Stop enjoying the scenery! On guard!" Lucifer screamed as Crona suddenly pounced up above us, ready to give a downward slash with his crescent blade.

Time began to slow to a snail's pace. Lucifer felt heavy in my hands. My muscles felt like they could break right off the bone. Sweat and sound disrupted my vision. And the boy above me was now a black wrathful blur.

In the nick of time, I brought up my blade as Crona brought down his, along with another similar torrent of screaming energy. "Screech BETA!" He glared at me before the torrent of energy pushed us back a few good metres, almost one quarter of the whole church passage.

With a two handed push, I dispersed the energy into particles. Then I felt the pain.

It was the first time my weak human body had been pierced. And it wasn't by Lucifer. It wasn't by Ragnorok.

Streaks of sweat went down my forehead as I looked in utter shock at the long hard spear that had pierced my stomach area. The spear was coming from Crona's other hand and my jaw dropped as I noticed the blood that had been on his hand now being used as this spear. "Blood manipulation. Master...Use your frost!" Lucifer yelled as he wildly pushed me backwards and I yelled as the spear exited my body. "Urgh...Fol..." Was all I could barely make as the frost breath began to cover the area in a form of icy bandage.

"I will say this again..." I cringed in pain as Crona begin to walk closer, his blood spear moving to merge with his gauntlet. He also swung Ragnorok in circles, taking his own bloody time...Goddamn it. The pain is still stinging.

"I will kill anyone who threatens Maka...So you are...dead...And I know how to deal with dead people..." Crona gave a monstrous death stare. "Oh...he's pissed..." Ragnorok mused.

This whole damn thing was a misunderstanding from the start. I cursed myself as I tried to explain. "Look here...you got it wrong...I don't threaten her..."

But he wouldn't have it. "Wrong answer..." He growled as he suddenly begin to rub his back. All of a sudden, his back once again began to expand and all I could do was to watch as black wings began to force their way out of his back. And most importantly, the wings looked like that of a dragon's. Is this boy a dragon?

"Are you...?" I was about to speak but my question was almost instantly destroyed as another two pair of wings began to appear. No way is that a dragon. The boy looked more like a demonic version of a seraph, with six draconic wings.

"Screech Gamma..." Crona began to pray and the blade was once again enveloped in a cloud mass of Black Blood. Another transformation? I grabbed my injured stomach in pain, taking careful and fast breaths, but the ice bandage still held.

Then the cloud cleared and the new blade Crona held was that similar to its Witch Hunter mode, except for one thing. Instead of a single crescent, the sword now had three crescents placed at 30 degrees off each other. Almost similar to that of his six new wings. Also the lower part of the blade had two extra mouth-looking gaps in their structure. "Sword Breakers..." Lucifer explained with a growl.

I knew an attack was coming. But I didn't know when as Crona brought the distorted sword back down from his prayer stance. I was out of ideas. I was injured, badly. And I can't seem to persuade the boy of my innocence. What should I do?

"I guess I have no choice..." Lucifer suddenly sighed out of the blue. "I would have to use her..." he cursed in disgust.

I gawked as Lucifer morphed back into its dog form, much to the surprise of Crona too, who raised a brow. What the hell is that sword thinking? "Looks like your weapon abandoned you..." Crona shook his head as Lucifer begun to run to the side. Indeed it looks like he did.

"Am I your only weapon?" Lucifer then spoke to me.

Of course! I looked at the bracelet that I had yet to use in combat.

Lucifer had grudgingly allowed me to use it. Best not waste this chance!

**Author's note: So I guess you guys should know that Gospel is going to come up next. And Paarthurnax has sent off his own henchman, Ahzidal. Next time's battle: Ahzidal vs Odahving.**


	31. Alduin 26

"Here I come..." Crona smiled, much to the unnerving of Alduin.

"This battle ain't over yet..." Alduin smiled back as he grabbed his bracelet.

"Screech GAMMA!" Crona charged as the three-crescent blade suddenly turned into a high-speed blur.

"GOSPEL!" Alduin shouted as he brought his shield arm up.

And the shield came just in time to meet an almost invisible barrage of wild strikes. The attack had warpped the blade in such a way it was as if multiple blades were attacking at the same time. Add the three additional crescents and it seems like the attack was made four times stronger.

The force behind each strike was tremendous but a quick change in stance made it more tolerable and Gospel held fast against the Screech Gamma attack. The shield, though not as powerful as Lucifer, is still dubbed as the shield that cannot be broken.

"So that's his shield..." Odahving looked in awe as the debilitating scream outside the church continued its deadly work. Kid had already became unconscious while Maka is trying to pick herself up, only to crumble again as a fresh scream came.

Odahving so wanted to help, but in his current state he is powerless. He cursed himself. Since they came to Earth, all the battles had been done by Alduin. As a dragon, he should be fighting for his god, not stand by and let his god do the fighting. With this resolution, Odahving pushed himself up, ignoring the screams that are paining his very eardrum.

"I'm coming, Alduin!" Odahving shouted over the scream.

However he shouldn't have.

The shout distracted Alduin, making his head turn sideways to look at Odahving from the corner of his eyes. But that brief distraction was enough for Crona to give a big full strike right on the center of the shield. While it might seem that the shield would be able to hold, Alduin's hand was the weak link. The scream had escalated the vibration of the sword and like a shockwave, it bypassed the shield into Alduin's hand. "What the..." Alduin screamed in pain as he felt his arm turn completely numb, his muscles completely out of his control.

"No!" Odahving was horrified at his carelessness. "TIL!" He shouted as he ran to assist Alduin. However, even Time Slow couldn't bridge the gap fast enough.

Odahving watched as Alduin was sent flying in slow-mo. The god-turned-boy smashed straight into a wall, his ice bandage breaking from the impact. Even Lucifer at the side looked shocked at this turn of events. Odahving was wide-eyed with horror and then anger as he charged headlong into Crona.

To Crona, it looked like a speeding tank round was ramming right into him.

To Odahving, it looked like a slow-moving bastard who had just hurt his leader.

But Crona's black blood acted up and Odahving gasped as he felt his punching fist hurting tremendously, as if he was punching a building instead of a boy. Even so, his strength was enough to send the boy skidding a good distance back as the Time Slow faded.

"You're his friend?" Crona glared as he pointed at the bleeding Alduin, who had been seemingly knocked unconscious. "His second-in-command..." Odah growled under his breath as he felt Lucifer prowling in the shadows.

Sure enough, the German Shepherd jumped onto Crona, knocking him out of focus. "FO!" Odah roared as the frost came in a whirlwind, his anger mixing in his shouts. The frost engulfed Crona as Lucifer pounced out of the way.

"Did I get the bastard...?" Odahving tried to catch his breath.

All of a sudden, the frost was blown away as another scream came out. "Screech ALPHA!"

Only a timely FUS at the ground gave Odahving enough lift to dodge the energy stream.

"I won't forgive you..." Odahving glared at the speaking Crona, whose dull stare had turned into a foul and serious frown. "I WON'T FORGIVE ANYONE WHO THREATENS MAKA!"

"I won't forgive you either!" Odahving was about to retort before a sudden pressure began to appear in the church. He gasped in shock as Crona brought the tri-crescent sword over his head. It was in the stance that the sword hand is over the heads and the sword is positioned such that it is to strike with its tip. But the shock was more aimed at the sword once again beginning to change. The two lower crescents now begin to go down the blade, until all the crescents all cover an equal part of the blade.

Then they begin to turn.

"Screech...Omega..." Crona closed his eyes, concentrating as the crescents began their violent spin. Wind and black blood clouds began to gather around the spinning blade, creating a significant black hurricane. As the crescents spun more and more, even their shape began to become distorted, the extending crescents twisting and encircling the blade.

Odahving could only gawk as the attack grew more and more powerful. Finally, the process seemed to have completed as Crona now wielded a drill-like blade, with three small blade-gear extensions where the crescents once were. And surrounding it was a massive amount of spinning dark energy and air. And Crona's seraph wings suddenly shaped into scythe-like blades that then planted themselves into the ground around him, preparing for the huge attack that was about to come.

"Ragnorok..." "Crona..."

"Screaming Soul Resonance..." The two said in unison. With this proclaimation, Odahving watched as a significant energy spike could be felt and the air was now beginning to vibrate. Even the church began to shake as the pillars now threatened by break off. He was at a total loss of what to do.

"Die..." And Crona thrusted his spinning blade out.

BANG! The attack was so fast that Odahving's senses were almost overwhelmed within an instant. The storm of wind and dark energy came charging with the force similar to a dive-bombing dragon. The blinding darkness made the technique all the more confusing. The huge wind generated blew off the doors and then the church walls behind him. The chairs beside him were obliterated and Alduin at the side now disappeared from view. Odahving gasped as the tidal wave of energy surrounded and encircled him. The screaming came hard and fast, making his ears ring and now his body was starting to turn numb. And why he can see all this, you might ask?

Odahving turned to look at his saviour. Lucifer had transformed into its blade form and now collided with the huge flood head-on. To everyone else, the wave was a huge massive attack that could obliterate everything in its path. To him, it was just something for him to destroy.

The blade faced the torrent, splitting it right in the center. This had the unintentional effect of creating a small part of the area that is free from the attack. An area Odahving was standing right on.

But even Lucifer had its limits. Without a master's energy, it wasn't at its full potential. And somewhere, he could feel that Gospel was still active. Slowly but surely he could feel a sense of revulsion and disgust coming up within him. It wasn't because he was tired. No, he could do this for centuries. But the problem was that Gospel was the one the master held, not him. When both weapons are active on the same dimensional plane, the one not held by the master will be sent off. And Lucifer knew that he won't last much longer in his weapon form.

"No way..." Lucifer heard a familiar voice from the energy wave.

"The Second Sin...no wonder he's so angry..." Lucifer and Odahving gasped as they saw a bleeding Alduin march out of the energy stream, Gospel warding off all of the damage it could have done to him. And in his other hand was a transforming stone. "Ira..." Alduin coughed as he held his open wound. Then with a wave, Gospel dispersed into the bracelet and Lucifer felt his sense of disgust fade away. However, the energy still came in bucketloads and the church wasn't going to hold much longer. And Lucifer now had an idea. "Wrath..." he whispered.

"Alduin!" He roared at his master. "Use me! And keep the crest." Alduin complied as he grabbed the grip. In his other hand, the stone had completed its change and now the Ira crest appeared as a savage red phoenix, with its black crystal in its center. Through the telepathy, he had already known what Lucifer's plan was. Counter anger with anger.

"SOUL FOCUS!" He roared as the black electric flames came up once again, surrounding him in a dark shroud as he continued a hard push against Screech Omega. The pillars, now cracking, are beginning to fall, much to the desperation of Odahving,

"Lucifer!" "Master!"

"SOUL RESONANCE!" But they weren't resonating with one another. No, Lucifer had been a product of Alduin, so they have one and the same soul. But instead, they were resonating with the soul within the Ira crest. The old soul of the ancient Daedra of Wrath. Within seconds, a pressure began to burst forth, soon rivalling Crona's before exceeding it. And with one ground-to-up slash, Alduin sent the torrent of energy soaring into the sky.

Crona gasped as his Screech Omega burst through the roof, dispersing harmlessly.

And Alduin now stepped forward, his appearance having drastically changed. Black dragon scales now appear on his arms and legs. His head now protruded the same dragon horns that he once had. His eyes have narrowed, the pupils looking more feral and beast-like, and scale impressions could be seen under them. His neck was now covered by a cape-like scarf, which was bursting in his signature black flames. The wound formed by the blood spear had all but disappeared.

Even Lucifer had a makeover. The winged hilt now had actual small dragon wings as the blade was enveloped in the same energy coat it had when it first appeared.

"So...that's your true form..." Crona prepared himself as Alduin stared back at him, silent and frowning.

But the preparation was of little use.

Crona's jaw dropped as Alduin suddenly appeared behind him, his speed making him almost invisible. A rush of air went over Crona before he even knew what hit him. Looking at Crona over his shoulder, Alduin stared solemnly as the boy was struck by the unseen attack that he had used, dropping to the ground. The Black Blood was the only reason that the boy was still alive, spurting out before hardening over the now new gaping wound in his chest.

"No way..." Odahving muttered under his breath as he picked up the unconscious Crona. And with his defeat, the screams outside had stopped their rampage and Maka and Soul rushed in, with the knocked out Kid on the latter's shoulders. "I hate my hair..." Kid moaned in his sleep.

"He'll be okay..." Odahving assured the worried girl about Crona's condition as he turned nervously to look at the transformed Alduin, who simply stood at the altar with a blank stare to the sky. Soul soon noticed it too. "Hey, is he okay?"

"He resonated with the Ira crest..."

"What?" Soul and Maka then stared at the Alduin's burning scarf, which had begun to burn even brighter. But the black flames were now being replaced by that of tainted red.

Odahving sighed, his spine feeling a shiver. "He hasn't spoken ever since he changed..."

The air was now becoming tense and vibrating in the same way as it had with Excalibur. Everyone now felt their foreheads sweat and the veins in their fists begun to show. Alduin was now exuding an aura of Wrath. The buildign was once again starting to shake again. "He's lost it..." Soul whispered as Alduin simply waited there, ignoring what he was subconsciously doing. Everyone gasped as Alduin suddenly held Lucifer over his head, his dilated pupils moving to acknowledge them from the corner of his eyes. He was almost about to attack them.

Once again, Lucifer had no choice but to intervene.

Alduin was suddenly shocked, the only indication of his shock the widening of his eyes, as Lucifer grew humongous once again, this time as big as the width of the entire church. With this change, the sword proceeded to crush the boy under its weight. A cloud of dust and smoke billowed out, prompting the group to cover their mouths as Odahving tried to get closer.

And soon he saw a silhouette of a familiar dog now dragging out Alduin who had reverted to his normal human form.

And that entire episode had been observed by an unusual grey-haired man, who watched from the top of the broken roof.

"Target found."

**Author's note: Thanks to people who have reviewed and I have been working diligently on my stories. Persona 0 will be up soon but I will need your review whether I should do 1****st**** person or 3****rd**** person. But anyway, Crona's Screech Omega is based on Enuma Elish of fate/stay night and Alduin has now grown much stronger in power compared to Crona, though at the cost of his sanity. That ends the battle between Alduin and Crona. Hope you like it and please review!**


	32. Alduin 27

Odahving, Maka and Soul quickly ran to Alduin's side, with the last one carrying both Crona and Kid on his back. Lucifer licked the unconscious boy affectionately. His wound had once again came up as blood can be seen coming out, staining Odahving's hands as he tried to apply pressure it. "Got any bandages?" Maka shook her head, followed by the two looking at Soul's headband.

"What?"

Using the headband as a rudimentary bandage, Odahving then grabbed the Ira crest out of Alduin's hand, as its Word's of Power begun to glow. "Looks like another one..." Odahving sighed as he took the power in. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll give it to you when you are awake..." Odahving assured the knocked out Alduin. Turning to Maka, he passed her the crest. "Take Alduin and Lucifer and get out of here with Soul..."

"What do you mean?" Maka glanced nervously back at him. "Just go..." Odahving had been wondering what the feeling on his shoulders had been and now he knew what it was trying to tell him. Besides the man on the roof is doing a poor job of hiding himself, his ugly head clearly peeking out from the hole.

"Alright..." Maka nodded as she threw Alduin to Soul, who quickly tried to balance all three boys on his back. "Why do I get to be the heavy lifter...?" Soul gritted his teeth under the weight. Taking Lucifer under her arm, Maka proceeded with Soul to evacuate the crumbling church. Odahving watched as they go, before grabbing one of the metal golden metal candle-stands that were about.

He walked deliberately and slowly towards the center of the church, keeping his eye out for the man on the roof. He made sure he wasn't looking at him directly but he figured that the man knew his cover was already blown.

"You can come out now!"

**With Maka and Soul...**

Maka and Soul ran and ran up the long flight of steps towards the DWMA. Soul was having trouble keeping his balance with the three boys on his back but he managed. Maka was the one who needed help. Lucifer was getting all aggressive, baring his teeth and his fur were on ends. The German Shepherd struggled as she tried to hold him back. "'I'll walk you later!" She yelled at him as the duo ran up to the entrance.

"Is something the matter?" The group froze as they met face to face with Stein. "I'm surprised...you managed to subdue Crona..." The good doctor smiled as he spun on his chair. "And where's Odahving?"

"He's back at the church..." Maka didn't know how to explain, a nervous expression on her face. "What's wrong? Is he in danger?" Stein pressed on.

"I didn't know. It seemed like he knew that someone was going to attack..."

BOOM! Everyone gasped as they saw the church begin its eventual collapse in the distance. Even the sun stopped its usual laughing spree to watch as a massive cloud of brought up dust came into the air. And then streams of fire and ice begin to pour out as it was made awfully clear that a fight was still rampaging in there.

"Go back in..." Stein ordered Maka and Soul as he got off his chair, his smile now turned into a serious expression. He frowned as he removed his cigarette. "Now!" he emphasized when he saw Maka and Soul still standing there in shock.

"Yes sir!" The two complied as they ran into the academy.

"Looks like someone has invaded Death City and it's not just Crona..." Stein looked grim as he began his walk down the Death City Steps.

**At Odahving...**

"You have guts coming here, Ahzidal!" Odahving roared as he deflected the sword of the gray-haired dragon/man with his candlestaff, spinning it to perform a quick counter-attack. As they fought, the church around them was becoming decimated as only one of the walls now remained.

"And you have guts abandoning us, Odahving!" Ahzidal yelled back as he ducked to avoid the staff before sweeping Odahving off his feet. Odahving barely rolled away, using Unrelenting Force to push himself off the ground. "And following a fallen leader who has shown nothing but weakness and madness. I'd say you have been bewitched. And a human too! Now that's disgrace to all of us dragonkind!" Ahzidal brought the sword over his head for another strike.

"Alduin has redeemed himself, Ahzidal. You can still swear your loyalty to him and forget Paarthurnax!" Odahving snapped back as he struck the opponent's exposed belly before spinning around his body to give another whack on the back. But a Time Slow immediately turned Ahzidal into a blur as he met the strike with blinding speed.

"TIL!" Odahving shouted too and the two became speeding bullets of fighters, the clash of their weapons a high-pitched screech. "You mistake me, Odahving! I did not come here to swear allegiance to Alduin, a fallen god. And Paarthurnax has said that if I serve him, the annoying humans will get their final judgement: Death!" Snarling, Ahzidal blew a host of fire into Odahving, who quickly jumped out of the way.

Staff and sword met as the two continued their duel. "The humans are a wonderful and incredible species. Killing them outright is a great loss in potential. And something that even the gods will disagree with. Besides." Odahving and Ahzidal stopped their dance of blows and strikes for a while. "Chaos and Order are coming. They weren't just destroy this world but also the universe and everything in it. And that includes you, Ahzidal..." Odahving tried to catch his breath as Ahzidal smiled. It was a very unnerving smile.

"You are getting tired, Odahving. You have really became a human. You are both a disgrace to your kind and the gods. Do you really believe Paarthurnax will leave his loyal subjects behind?" Ahzidal smirked as he gave a huge blade strike. Odahving raised his staff, only to be knocked back a good distance from the force.

"Uff..." Odahving tried to shake off his headache as Ahzidal got closer, his torso suddenly growing bigger and bigger. "You still have your powers..." Odahving gawked as the once man now sprouted out huge dragon wings and his hands burst out of their skin to form deadly-looking claws. The transformation was not complete but Ahzidal had just turned into a dragonoid. Standing 4 metres tall, the smirking beast glared at Odahving with its feral eyes. Its head was that of a dragon, only with a less elongated snout and a more bulkier form. The tail trailed behind the dragonoid, before giving a swing that smashed apart the last wall of the church.

As the debris, crumbled to the ground, Odahving quickly ran between the Dragonoid's legs. "Where do you think you are going?" Ahzidal taunted as he smashed the spot Odahving was moments ago. As the boy turned to attack from behind, the tail came to hit him squarely in the chest. Flying in the air, Odah smashed into a nearby house, leaving a huge indent on the wall. Spitting out blood, Odah rolled out of the way as Ahzidal unleashed his Fire Breath. "YOL TOOR SHUL!" The flame breath came at the size of a bullet train and ravaged through 10 houses in a row.

"See how powerless the humans are, Odahving?" Ahzidal mocked as Odah threw away his battered staff, crawling away from the towering dragonoid. "Fus!" Odah shouted but the Force breath only felt like a knudge compared to Ahzidal's own Unrelenting Force. "FUS RO DAH!"

Behind Odahving, the Force was enough to blow apart a house as he himself flew back, pushed by the huge force known to send Giants into the air. As he passed through the ripped through house, he could see each and every brick coming apart and the furniture being blown away. He skidded and regained his footing, using a series of his own FUS on the ground to reduce the impact he receives. The battle had moved now a few metres away from the destroyed church, onto a long single road that had houses on everyside. Odahving gasped as families began to run out in terror. This was the worst place he could fight in.

"Distracted?" Ahzidal laughed as the bipedal dragonoid appeared from within the burning smoke and debris, his furious red eyes glowing with triumph and pride. "You have softened Odahving...no thanks to that damn Dragonborn!" Ahzidal swept the house nearest to him with his giant arms and the top half was essentially obliterated. "I used to admire you, you know, Odahving. The great second-in-command who will lead the dragons as the strongest dragon!" Ahzidal glared as he approached the steadying Odahving.

"You admire me?"

"Yes but when you betrayed Alduin, we all realized one thing: that the second-in-command always kills the leader. And my admiration grew even more for you. And now, even now you will repeat it again. You have always been second, and the second always kills the first."

"What are you saying?" Odahving gasped as he relaxed his stance.

"Figure it out yourself!" Odahving cursed himself as he felt a huge arm hit right into his chest and he was sent soaring through the road, hitting the ground like a skipping stone on water, before stopping 5 metres away. His head felt giddy and his body was screaming at him in pain. His mind could barely move his weary body as he brought himself up once again.

As he saw Ahzidal scowl over him, his arms raised to give the finishing blow, Odahving felt the blood leak from the wound on his head and his vision begun to blur. "Is this it?"

He closed his eyes as Ahzidal roared in triumph and the arms begin their deadly descent.

**So Odahving is on the brink of death and Ahzidal has turned into a huge dragonoid. Will Stein be able to save Odahving in time? Or will a particular white creature with a stick come to the rescue? You decide! Please review!**

.


	33. Alduin 28

"Urgh...another dream?" Alduin rubbed his giddy head as he felt the beads of sweat dribble down. The sun was now in the sky but it was in a sort of solar eclipse, with only small amounts of light leaking out of the edges. Not that he would want to look at them of course. Alduin once again found that he was lying on a piece of levitating piece of land, with breaking pieces of it orbiting around. Looking over the edge, Alduin gasped as huge red-orange flames burst forth, nearly burning him as he jumped away from the side. From under the land to the horizon in the distance, Alduin could see flames of carnage burning with an angry ferocity all around him.

"Seems like it..." Alduin turned to see Lucifer in his dog form once again as the German Shepherd pranced about the barren piece that is the only thing standing between their life and a fiery death. The dog looked grim as he examined the flames below. One of the fire geysers engulfed him right in the face, only for him to stroll out without losing a hair. "Petty flames are a mere decoration to me..." He was seemingly ignoring the intense heat.

"Where are we?" Alduin asked as he threw a stone down the edge, only to see it fall before disappearing in the depths of hellfire. "Oblivion...Or rather the ancient version of Oblivion..." Lucifer answered over the loud crackle of the fire as he pulled out a white cartridge out of his fur with his teeth. "Cigarette?" Lucifer offered, much to Alduin's shock.

"No...thanks..." Alduin looked awkwardly at the dog now holding a cigarette in his mouth. "What?" Lucifer stared back at him. "Nothing..." Alduin turned away.

"Ha..." Lucifer nearly giggled at his master's inability to comprehend. "Fine..." He muttered under his breath as he stood over the edge again and another geyser came up to smack him in the face. And light up his smoke.

"Ahh..." Lucifer gave a sigh of relief as he smoked the lighted cigarette on one side of his mouth and giving out the nearly translucent smoke on the other. "Nothing but a good smoke to pass the time..."

"Pass the time?" Alduin raised an eyebrow as he sat beside Lucifer.

"We are in Ira's realm, or rather remnants of his realm. After synchronizing with him, you allowed your consciousness to take the forms of Ira's own. You are very lucky..." Lucifer muttered to him with an all-knowing nod.

"You were lucky indeed. I didn't believe that I would see the day that Ira would be in a good mood. He nearly obliterated your friends. In fact, he should have done that and destroyed Death City as well. Followed by the world and then both Chaos and Order would have been joined by a third super-entity. But thanks to me, you guys all managed to avoid that chain reaction."

"It was your idea!"

"I didn't expect you to actually allow a full-blown soul resonance. The Ancients, the Sins and Virtues, are way more powerful than you Divines can ever be...That was exactly why they went into their dormant crest states." Lucifer glanced at Alduin from the corner of his eye. His own right eye was now a changing colour: jet black, lime green, lavender blue, blood red and so on. Alduin stared at it, unnerved a bit by its unusual nature.

"How are you holding up?" Lucifer growled to Alduin.

"Huh?"

"How does it feel to be an Ancient God of Wrath for a change? Your body is no doubt ready to fight but your mind has taken a beating..."

Alduin scratched his head. "I feel alright..."

"I'm surprised...Actually maybe not...Wrath is after all the element you have the most affinity to..."

Alduin, hearing this, hung his head. Lucifer knew he had struck a sensitive point but he continued. "You are after all the God of Time and Destruction. Taking the Destruction part of Time upon yourself."

"Listen...you might blame yourself for allowing yourself to do your brother's dirty work but you can change that. Find all the crests and stop Chaos and Order. And everyone will be happy and things will be back the way it was before."

"Back to the way it was before...The way when conflicts ruled Nirn and blood and gore was a day-to-day thing. When weapons and soldiers ruled the world and the innocent are replaced by the savage and hungry. Do I really want it to end just like that?"

Lucifer gasped as his burnt out cigarette dropped into ashes on the surprisingly cold earth in the pit of hell. "Don't tell me you doubt your mission now?...I see...Ira's mindset got to you, didn't it?"

"Why shouldn't I? Lucifer...when I was him...Ira...I was filled with such Wrath and Anger. Frustration at how this world just won't change no matter what you do! Irritation at how some people just won't learn! And then I saw how Anger brought the people to its knees, how it twisted them with its sins and turned them against each other! It felt almost hopeless when I saw that anger was such a primal and such a basic thing and yet it could wrought so much damage and so much hatred! Why? Why, Lucifer?" Lucifer's eyes widened as Alduin grabbed him by the side. "Tell me why is it that we must tolerate such a Sin? Why must we lie to ourselves that we don't have a Sin when it is such a "

"Because you have no choice..." Lucifer glared into Alduin's eyes, which seemed hopeless and...human. "Master, you are a God! Don't allow such a minor thing to distract you!"

"Which is why I am distracted! Because I'm a god! I am supposed to be the omnipotent God of Time and yet my powers seem to be useless at changing the world's corrupt and sinful nature..."

"Look at yourself, Master! You are allowing your madness get the better of you! Listen to me! Your powers are not what allow you to change the world! Your ACTIONS are!" Alduin was baffled by Lucifer's sudden outburst, as his grip around the dog's auburn fur loosened.

"Look at how you sacrificed your own dignity to bring the Dragonborn to his destiny!"

"Admire the happiness and peace he brought to Skyrim, no matter how short!"

"Marvel at how the Stormcloaks and the Legion joined forces to stop you!"

"And all that was because of what you did! You did!" Lucifer shook Alduin's hands off him as the boy continued to stare at him in stunned silence.

"You have grown human, Alduin..." Lucifer sighed as he drooped down his tail.

"Huh?" Alduin managed to utter.

"Your brother Paarthurnax had felt it once. And he had paid the price for it with his very loyalty and good heart. Because he was unable to break the cycle."

"Now you too feel it. The burning furnace, Hopelessness, that forges the shovels. The digging, gnawing shovels, Fear, that creates the pit. The pit, Powerlessness, whose dug up soil will fuel the furnace. The three represent a cycle. Hopelessness equals fear. Fear equals lack of power. And lack of power equals hopelessness. Most people understand these things but few, the so-called revolutionaries, protestors, bringers of change, can grasp the last."

Alduin stared as Lucifer stood on the center of the land. Then the dog used his mouth to dig into his fur. In minutes, Alduin screamed as Lucifer seemingly pulled out a ladder out of his coat. "What the hell!" Alduin yelled at this impossible-looking feat.

"Come...the girl who you told to think about her future waits for us... let us ride the Ladder of Hope..." Lucifer grinned as he pushed the ladder's prongs into the ground. "Where are we going?" Alduin looked up but there wasn't a hole beyond the darkness above them.

"Look behind you. There's Hopelessness." Alduin gasped as Lucifer pointed to a burning furnace that had appeared right behind him. "Now pull out Fear! Toss one to me!" Lucifer ordered as Alduin complied, removing with his surprise two recently smelted shovels, one of which he passed to the now bipedal Lucifer. The dog had so many surprises on his sleeve that Alduin was no longer shocked by it. "And let Powerlessness be our pit. Even if it is upside-down!" Lucifer nodded to the enlightened Alduin as he allowed his master to lead the way, whispering to him as they worked.

"Even those with Hope will have their hopelessness, the hopelessness when one faces an obstacle, to create their fear. The fear of failure. The fear of losing everything for placing hope. And when they use this fear to dig their powerlessness, a fifth element comes into action. And the three-part cycle will be broken. The humans call it common sense. We call it Humanity..."

Alduin laughed, a great emotional s as he begun to dig upwards. Lucifer grinned at the sight of his master fighting on as he muttered under his breath. "You have passed the first test, Master. The Daedra of Anger accepts your will."

And near his canine ears he could hear the nearly inaudible gruff and drowsy voice. "Aye...Lucifer...I do indeed...Anger is only a byproduct of the cycle...And when one transfers the anger into Hope, Humanity will start to play its part..."

"Evil is not always evil..."

Lucifer replied softly back. "And a Sin is not always a Sin..."

**So I hope you like this chapter. This chapter kind of came into my mind somehow over the day. Have a nice day and please review!**


	34. Alduin 29

Odahving could barely dodge out of another huge fire breath from his dragonoid opponent, Ahzidal , whose ashen grey scales fended off Odah's own shouts. He was at his wits' ends as he ducked behind a tree, only to run to another spot as Ahzidal's giant claws swiped it right off its roots. Trying to catch his breath, Odahving gave another FO of a frost breath, only to have it breeze harmlessly over the dragonoid. "Running about like a little human, are you Odahving? Stay in one place so I can give you a QUICK DEATH!"

Crash! Odahving used his Time Slow just in time to tumble out of the path of the now slow-moving hand. His own ruby-coloured shirt was now getting tattered and sweaty as he watched the hand slammed into the spot he was a moment ago. As an apricot house was swept away by Ahzidal's careless tail, Odaving rushed in to send Ahzidal's old sword into his underbelly. But the sword was no match for a dragon's scales and the blade bounced off as if it was nothing more than a mere stick, snapping into two. Odahving was just able to retreat as Ahzidal tried to step on him. The smug dragonoid laughed at Odahving's futile attempts. "You are nothing more than a human now...even if you use your own life, you would never be able to match me now! Unlike the Dovahkiin, you are no Dragonborn!" Ahzidal roared once again as he began to charge down the street.

"Shit!" Odahving cursed as he tried to muster a shout but his stamina had failed him. Out of options, Odahving stared horrified as a poor bystander was stomped over by the giant four-meter tall bulk that was heading straight for him. With little choice, Odahving ran into one of the few remaining houses just as the beast was about to execute the same fate onto him. His heavy body swaying clumsily, Ahzidal followed Odahving as he crashed right through the house, just as his little target managed to get out of the house's back door.

However Odahving had no time to react as a stray flying plank from the demolished house hit him on the back of his head. Grimacing in pain, Odahving's vision blurred as he simultaneously tripped over some debris. Right in Ahzidal's charge path. Odahving closed his eyes as he felt the ground tremble with each of the dragonoid's stomps and the head-splitting roar that nearly deafened him. "Is this it?" He thought in desperation as he could now even feel Ahzidal's hot smelly breath.

"WHAT IN AKATOS..." BANG!

Odahving could not help but open his eyes by the time he heard the loud ringing bang, the type that seemed like a gunshot. He gawked as he saw Ahzidal stumble back, reeling from what seemed like a mere palm heel strike from Stein. The ground tremored as the large dragonoid's body fell into the wreckage of the house he had ran through earlier. Stein merely stood there as he walked towards the shocked Odahving. "You okay?" He extended a hand as he continued to screw the screw in his head. "Ye...Yeah..." Odahving allowed himself to be lifted back to his feet.

"Why you..." Odahving gasped as Ahzidal begun to recover. "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!" Ahzidal bared his teeth in rage as Odahving recognized the glowing light rising out of his throat. "Get down!" Odahving pushed Stein out of the way. "YOL TOR SHUL!" Ahzidal placed his anger into this Fire Breath as the stream of flames came at full force; just barely missing the duo and creating a smoldering barbeque strip about 10 metres long.

"Thanks..." Stein nodded as he picked himself up. Odahving stayed down, the last of his strength nearly gone and the use of Frost and Fire one after the other had given him a headache. Stein grinned to himself as he approached the towering Ahzidal, whose bulky stature cast a shadow over him. "I really want to dissect you..." Stein' sudden comment caused the angered Ahzidal to pause a moment but this was enough.

"SOUL MENACE!" Stein shouted as he gave a tiger claw strike right into Ahzidal's face. But the strike wasn't what sent the dragonoid stumbling back. It was some invisible force as Stein's opened hand crackled with green electricity. Ahzidal wailed as he tried to regain his footing, only to see Stein pouncing in the air. "How about another one?" Stein laughed as he gave another Soul menace smack dab into Ahzidal's surprised face.

"Da...damn you..." Ahzidal was unable to retaliate in time, unable to comprehend the Soul mechanics of Earth. "Twin Spears!" Stein punches out with both fists right into Ahzidal's stomach and even more electricity crackled out as Ahzidal began to cough out blood from his draconic jaw. The tables had clearly turned but Ahzidal wasn't finished yet. He wouldn't allow himself to be beaten back by a mere human, no matter what magic is at hand. Odahving knew that as Ahzidal opened his mouth again for another shout. "WULD NAW KEST!" Whirlwind sprint.

A speedy rush forward, assisted by the very winds, known to have a speed of a tempest. Usually a human would just dodge with this shout. But when you are a heavyweight dragonoid, this mere rush becomes a deadly straight-line stampede. Odahving covered his face as a sudden rush of wind went over him and Ahzidal disappeared, only to reappear again 30 metres in the direction he had been facing. And everything else that was in his path had been literally crushed as his huge body, propelled by the speeding tempest, acted by a battering ram. Stein was nowhere to be seen.

"No..." Odahving murmured as he searched for the good doctor but the man was seemingly obliterated. "Looks like he was just a mere thorn in the flesh!" Ahzidal laughed as he turned to face Odahving, who glared back with murderous intent. "This is how humans can be such weaklings, even if they try to get stronger. We the dragons will forever be the vanguard of the gods and the humans a mere snack!"

"You sure about that?" Odahving gritted his teeth as the word of Power that he had learnt from the Ira crest came into his mind.

"Huh? Still having a little bit of hope? Then I shall crush you, the second-in-command, along with it." Ahzidal smirked as he swung back his hand for a fist smash. "Any last words, traitor?"

"Yes, indeed I do..." Odahving frowned as he felt the pain well up inside him. He knew the word wasn't meant to be used by a dragon but he had no choice. "JOOR!" Odahving roared as he sent a blue energy wave out straight at Ahzidal, who didn't have time to dodge the speeding wave. As the wave hit straight into the dragonoid, a huge boom could be heard as blue energy tendrils began to lash out around Ahzidal while Odahving himself began to collapse as another set of tendrils came down upon him.

"This...is...a shout that...the humans you...call weaklings...created...in order to defeat...us..." Odahving's face crunched up in pain as he rolled onto the floor, while Ahzidal too was starting to wail and scream as the blue aura began to force him down. The dragonoid crashed to the floor as his body began to melt and reform. Slowly but surely, Odahving could make out Ahzidal reverting into his unconscious human form as he himself felt his nerves scream in anguish. This was why the shout was never meant to be used by a dragon.

He had seen the Dragonborn use it countless times to bring a dragon down to its knees and slay it on the ground. This shout was also used against Alduin himself, though with diminished effect. However it retained its usefulness as it had been able to finally force Alduin to the ground and had left him vulnerable to the attacks of the Dragonborn and his allies.

A shout meant to tear at the soul of a dragon, telling it of the meaning of mortality, a concept that is known to be almost impossible to understand for the immortal dragons. The shout known as Dragonrend.

**So Stein has nearly beaten Ahzidal but left Odahving to finish the job. Hope you like the end of this battle and the introduction of two more shouts: Dragonrend and Whirlwind Sprint. Please review and merry Christmas!**


	35. Alduin 30

Odahving crawled up as he felt the effects of the Dragonrend begin to fade. As he felt the ground, still warm from Ahzidal's fire assault, Odahving's muscles screamed at him for allowing the use of the Shout in the first place. And he didn't even used the full version of the shout. Odahving looked out at the blackened battleground, searching for Stein but still no sign. Just as he was about to will himself back up, he felt a hand at the back of his collar. Then he gawked as a roaring human Ahzidal lift him over his shoulder, throwing the tired second-in-command to the ground again.

Odahving brushed the dirt from his eyes as Ahzidal glared at him, angry smoke rising out of his mouth. "You...you...a mere traitor..." Ahzidal flexed his body, which had taken a beating from Dragonrend. As he ripped off his shirt, Ahzidal gave another scream of anger. "I will tear you apart, ODAHVING! I WILL MAKE YOU CRY WITH ANGUISH AND TORTUROUS PAIN AND THEN I WILL DESTROY THAT SOUL OF YOURS! I WILL MAKE YOUR SOUL GROVEL UNDER MY FEET AND THEN USE ALDUIN AS A STOOL WHEN I BEAT HIM!" Ahzidal continued his ranting as he approached Odahving, whose knees continued to buckle and his arms unwilling to move. He's essentially cornered.

"I WILL...! ACK!" Odahving gasped as Ahzidal begun to spit blood as his stumble came to a halt. Ahzidal looked down as a dark grayish-silver blade protruded from his belly. His breaths become faster and more shallow, Ahzidal gave another spit of blood before his eyes rolled back and Stein pulled out the scythe out of his body. Struggling for a while, Ahzidal gave a final breath of effort before he fell a meter away from Odahving, his body becoming mangled and twisted.

"Well...he's dead..." Stein helped Odahving up as he brushed off the dust on his torn scientist garb. "Looks I'll need to sew a bit more later..." Stein groaned as the scythe he held began to glow. Odahving looked on in anticipation at what weapon had helped Stein escape from the whirlwind stampede. "Trust me! Just buy a new suit, Stein!" Odahving's eyes widened as a young-aged man with red shoulder-length hair and a rather gaunt figure. He was dressed in a basic black blazer, black dress slacks, an olive green button down. But what was most noticeable was the cross-shaped tie and the two crosses on the collar of his button down. The man had a rather flamboyant look and Odahving had a feeling this is one of the playboys. And most of the time his feelings are right. The man's blue eyes noticed Odahving's red ones staring at him and he produced a casual smile.

"Thanks for the help, Spirit..." Stein smiled at Odahving too. The two man were obviously good friends, maybe even partners.

"You should be...You were lucky I was just at the club doing..." Spirit stopped as he noticed Odahving's even more suspicious stare.

"Doing flirting time with the ladies?" Stein exposed it as Odahving sighed. Looks like another idiotic person of Earth, huh? "Hi, I'm Spirit! And don't listen to the doctor...he's pretty screwed up if you ask me..." Spirit extended a warm handshake which Odah grudgingly returned. "Thanks for the help..." Odahving replied with not-very-well-hidden reluctance. He stared on as Stein begun to chase Spirit for bad-mouthing. He blinked as Stein caught up with the now screaming Spirit, producing a scalpel. "You shouldn't be doing that in front of the kid! This is a T-rated fanfic!" Spirit tried to get out but Stein persisted.

"Just a tiny bit..." Stein smiled with a menacing grin. A mad scientist and a playboy, Odahving thought as he turned to look at Ahzidal's fallen body, ignoring the screams of Spirit. "Remember kids, a good dragon knows when to look away..." Odahving tells to our good readers. Then his eyes widened as they looked upon Ahzidal's body. Immediately, he shouted to get the attention of the two men and unintentionally save Spirit from operation.

The three stepped back as Ahzidal's human body begun to burn and flake off as if his skin was like burning paper. As the once human body now began to turn into a bloody skeleton, the trio could hear a voice within a wind. It was disembodied and even worse it was in the Dragon Tongue. Odahving gasped as the voice spoke to him, admist burst of laughter.

"Even if you beat me, I am not the one that you should be afraid of. You should look somewhere else. Somewhere...inside...Yes...After all...you are the green-eyed monster. The second-in-command always kills the leader...Hahahaha...hahaha...AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..." Odahving froze as the voice finally disappeared as the final pieces of skin wore away. Stein and Spirit looked at him as they both broke a sweat, not understanding what Ahzidal had said. Odahving tried to calm himself, but his heart was racing as he gulped, his Adam's apple pushing against his throat.

"You okay?" Sprit tried to shake Odahving but Odahving used an arm to brush him off. "What happened?" Stein pressed but Odahving simply shook his head as he begun to walk away back to the Academy. Both Spirit and Stein gave each other a confused look as they watched the quiet boy begin his ascent up the stairs.

**In the medical room,**

"Ah my head hurts..." Maka gasped as Alduin begun to shift and his eyes flickered open as he laid there in the medical bed. "You're awake!" Soul exclaimed with a smile as Maka left her position beside Crona. Lucifer, who had been sleeping beside Alduin's bed, shook himself as he jumped up to greet Alduin.

"You okay, master?"

"Yeah..." Alduin felt particularly refreshed, as if a new strength had woken up within him. Then he remembered the dream. Hope, Powerlessness, Fear and Hopelessness. What was that about? He looked back at Lucifer with a questioning frown but the dog didn't seem to understand. "Hey...Are you still yourself?" Maka interjected as now Soul begun to get to the bedside.

"Yeah I'm myself. What's wrong?"

"Um...it's nothing..." Maka smiled apologetically, her ponytails a little more frazzled than usual.

Soul explained, "Just that you were trying to kill us a while ago..." Maka gave an angry look at Soul.

"Don't worry...I don't mind..." Alduin yawned as his memories of his temporary resonance with Ira returned to him. He remembered the murderous anger and rage during that time but the dream seemed to have made him more tolerant of the fact that he had allowed that to happen within him.

Soul raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?" Maka snapped at him, "Stop that!" "What? I'm just saying..."

"He's right..." Maka and Soul gasped as Alduin pushed himself up into a sitting position. "We can't be too careful..."

"If you see me like that in the future, run for your damn lives..." Alduin nodded at Lucifer, who was scratching whatever fleas was on his coat. "Got my back?" Alduin asked mentally.

"Don't worry...I can always get big enough to squish you back to normal..." Lucifer replied, though he didn't even show any emotion.

"So we got three crests now?" Maka asked as she picked up something from her chair. It was an ornate box, made of what seemed to a sort of crystal. As she opened, the interior of the box was shown to be separated into two zones, each with 7 slots. In one of them, the Humanitas crest rested in its usual white glow. In the other, Avarice was in its greedy tainted green and Ira burned with a ferocious red. Avarice gleamed as its Words of Power came to Alduin. Toor and Zun. Inferno and Weapon. At the same time, the box seemed to be able to suppress the crest's powers as no single glow was dominating the others. In the background, Alduin could hear an unconscious Kid two beds away from him moaning about how he wanted to wake up at 8 sharp. Sweat-drop.

"Who gave that box?" Alduin asked as he examined it. It was definitely not something that you can find in any second-hand shop or something you can pick up in a pulverized refrigerator. After he asked that, Soul gave a face. A very familiar face.

"Calm yourself..." Lucifer tried to tell him but the dog was interrupted by a very lame, very annoying little white dude.

"FOOLS! That person would be...me!" Excalibur seemed to be pleased with himself as he twirled his staff in a dance.

Alduin looked on in total shock as Excalibur begun to sing.

_Excalibur_

_Excalibur_

_From the United King_

_I'm looking for her_

_I'm going to California_

_Excalibur_

_Excalibur_

_From the United King_

_I'm looking for her_

_I'm going to California_

_Excalibu-_

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THE ROOM!"

**Up next: Lucifer Bio**


	36. Alduin 31

"Excalibur!" Alduin roared as he jumped out of his bed and charged straight at the dancing annoying sword. However, his punce missed as the creature cheekily jumped over his head, leaving him to drop face-first onto the floor. "Damn you!" Alduin roared as he continued to chase the creature. Maka and Soul looked on, sweat-dropping, as the boy chased the little dancer all around the medical room.

"Should we stop him?" Maka asked.

"Wait a bit. It looks interesting." Soul grinned as Lucifer sighed from the side. His master wasn't exactly calming himself down.

Finally, Alduin's extended hand managed to grab Excalibur by his silly tophat. As the creature flailed wildly mid-air, Alduin glared daggers at him. "I'm going to have roasted holy sword for dinner tonight..." Alduin smirked with a lick of his lips.

"FOOL!" Excalibur snapped at him as he used his staff to smack Alduin in the eye. "OW!" Alduin fell back as he lost his grip on the creature. As it landed on its two feet like a cat, Excalibur continued to speak. "I'm best served smoked with a tad of spices, not roasted." "That doesn't even make sense..." Maka sighed from the sidelines.

"Why you..." Alduin once again began his ferocious crackdown on the waltzing annoying sword. "LUCIFER!" Alduin extended his hand, much to Maka and Soul's aghast. Obeying, Lucifer morphed into his cleaving form as Alduin begun to swing the sword at Excalibur. He was careful not to destroy the walls of the medical room but when you are being annoyed by a certain white creature, you can't be too careful.

"WAARRGH!" Maka yelled as a shelf came shooting over her and Soul's head. A office chair was next as now Soul and Maka played a game of avoid-the-flying-furniture-sent-by-the-raging-boy-from-the-future. "Woah watch it!" Soul turned his arm into his scythe blade in time to slice a table into two.

"Sorry!" Alduin apologized half-heartedly as he continued his mad rampage on Excalibur. The creature seemed to be enjoying himself as he now begun to dance over Crona's body. Maka gasped. "Alduin no!" However, her voice was dulled by the annoying singing of Excalibur as Alduin raised Lucifer over his head, ready to bring it down on Excalibur...and Crona. And Alduin had barely any time to react as he felt his hands swing the blade just as Excalibur jumped off.

"Woah! Woah! Easy!" Alduin gasped as a black gloved hand extended from the unconscious Crona's belly. "Ragnorok..." Maka gave a sigh of relief as she and Soul stood in an area that is now choked full of wood and broken furniture. "Where did this come from?" Soul thought out loud as he picked up what seemed like a pulverized refrigerator.

_Somewhere else, Mary is wondering where her fridge has gone to this time._

"Argh...you nearly screwed the poor guy..." Ragnorok pulled out his full form as Alduin allowed Lucifer to revert back to his true form. The German Shepherd sat at one side as he watched the two converse. "Guess you are a friend of hers?" Ragnorok pointed at Maka.

"Umm...yeah..." Alduin still was having doubts about friends but now is definitely not the time to think about that. "Guess Crona got the whole thing wrong huh...Haaaa...Emotional as always..." Ragnorok used his clenched fist to poke at his unconscious master.

"Tell him that when he wakes up. We could use his help."

"Wait a minute here...help? Help for what? What's in it for us?" Ragnorok held his arms akimbo as he waited for Alduin's response.

'Really now? I have to argue with him?' Alduin thought to himself as he suddenly felt Maka approaching from the side. "MAKA CHOP!" Maka yelled as her book came crashing down on the surprised Ragnorok's head. This time, she had a bit more force behind it as the book-shaped dent reached down to Ragnorok's six-pack. Alduin gawked as Ragnorok simply reshaped himself back, though the creature seemed to be seeing stars. "Goddamn it...not astronomy again..."

"What's in it for you is a good candy and a cherry on top." Alduin stared at Maka's seemingly pathetic offer. Candy for a mission that could kill you? Surely the creature will refuse.

Once again he was wrong. "OHHH! CANDY!" Ragnorok smiled to himself as he produced a watering mouth under his x-shaped nose. "You got a deal!" Ragnorok extended his hand to Alduin. Alduin looked on at it, not knowing whether he should receive it.

"What are you waiting for?" Maka snapped him out of his doubts.

"Go on..." Lucifer assured him telepathically.

"Fi...fine..." Alduin gave in as he extended his own hand and let it grasp the cold hard skin of Ragnorok. "It's a deal..." Alduin stammered as he shook hands with the gleeful creature.

"Great! I'll tell Crona right after he wakes up!" "Let me handle him..." Maka volunteered with an eager smile and Alduin nodded in agreement.

As Maka went to explain to the listening Ragnorok about the entire mission, Alduin noticed Odahving entering the medical room door. However, the red head seemed to be down-and-out, as he seemed to be in a uneasy mood. "What's wrong?" Alduin approached the brooding Odahving. "Huh?" Odahving jumped as his thoughts are disturbed.

"Woah woah what happened?" Alduin pressed in as Odahving seemed to be broken from a trance. "Ahhh...ah...I met Ahzidal and with Stein's help, managed to kill him..."

"Ahzidal? How did he get here?"

"Paarthurnax sent him. He wanted to kill me and you."

"Guess he knows about the crests. Anything else?"

Odahving was about to open his mouth to tell Alduin about Ahzidal's last words but he decided to let it go. "No...there is nothing else..."

"What's wrong? You seem down." Alduin scanned Odahving's face while Soul walked about the room trying to redo the furniture setting.

"Me? Down? You got to be joking..." Odahving tried to fake a smile as Alduin gazed at him with his jet-black eyes. "Hmmm...maybe I should whip up a meal for you..."

"YES!" "HUH?" Alduin gawked as Soul suddenly begun to grab his leg. Maka gasped as Ragnorok grinned cheekily at the scene. "What the hell! Let go!"

"I just can't wait! Your cooking is so much better than that fla-" BANG! Alduin awkwardly watched Maka dragged away the now unconscious Soul Eater from his leg.

Beside him, Odahving watched the whole scene play out. But he couldn't bring himself to laugh at it or at least giggle. Somehow, Ahzidal's words weren't something he could easily ignore and if he interpreted right, it means that he, the second-in-command, will kill Alduin, the leader.

"No way..." Odahving whispered to himself, his fists clenched with confusion. "I'll ruin everything?"

Lucifer gazed with concern at the red dragon from his sleeping position. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Lucifer had his eyes on Odahving the moment he walked in. His sweaty furrowed forehead, his nervous eyes looking about everywhere, his mouth with the smallest of twitches and his arms prickly-like with goose bumps. The boy had heard something that had unnerved him greatly. And Lucifer knew that the next few days might reinforce Odahving's loyalty.

Or break him instead.


	37. Alduin 32

**In the Death Room...**

"Ahh...Stein, Sprit...you are here..." Death turned to greet the duo as they passed under the long trail of red tori gates. "Greetings, Death..." Stein said coolly as Spirit went to take his side beside Death. The sky-like dome ceiling encompassed the Death room as its desert-like look hid the large soul energy it emanated. Stein's calm eyes regarded the Kishin Egg soul that Death was just about to bury under another cross. "I'm surprised. The room is still big enough..." Stein whispered to himself. "Hey! Big D!" Spirit got Death's attention from his digging job.

"I know. I know, Spirit-kun..." Death sighed as he finally patted the ground down. "A man's got to get his exercise, right?" Death smiled as he arched his back backwards in a stretch. If he even has a backbone in the first place.

"I'm really getting old..." Death lamented as he somehow sailed up the steps onto the large round platform that is the center of the Death Room. Stein smiled as he watched the Grim Reaper moved about just on that one little foot. Makes him want to dissect him sometimes. Of course, he has never tried.

"So what has happened?"

"The big bad dragonoid fell and he somehow turned into dust. No soul left, it seems."

"Interesting..." Death scratched his what-looked-like-a-chin with his giant cubey fingers. "Not a soul in sight?"

Spirit shrugged as he laid back on the mirror. "Yeah...it was like it had disintergrated...whatever that dragon-person thing was, it definitely wasn't from our realm..."

Stein also stated, "When I tried to look at its soul, all I saw was a string, a literal DNA of souls, souls one after another forming a large double helix. It was like the dragonoid had been the culmination of a gathering of souls. Like someone bonded the souls together and stuffed them into a dead dragon, thus reviving it."

"And the Shout?"

"Odahving's shout literally caused the entire soul-chain to lose its stability and the chain collapsed. Yet the dragon was still able to hold on to its original soul and it survived. But that didn't last long thanks to us. But..." Stein showed a grim face, much to Spirit's surprise. "What's wrong?"

"The souls, not just the original, are all dark and tainted. They all possess enough madness to form a Kishin each. It's like they've been from a very dark world. A world full of conflicts, betrayal and all sorts of madness. I've been experimenting on a lot of souls and I have never seen such hatred and turmoil solidified into one souls. And there were so many of them. Even Asura couldn't match the insanity of each soul."

"You mean, the souls come from somewhere else?"

"Yes, somewhere where war and destruction was an everyday thing. And that stench, the cries within them was so unforgettable. It was like the very souls wanted to disintegrate, begging for us to destroy each of them. Just listening to one is enough to make me feel my own dissection madness was nothing more than a mosquito compared to theirs."

Spirit then snapped his fingers, as if he had remembered something. "Oh yes, when we finished the guy off and he sort of melted, we heard a voice. It was speaking in a very alien language."

"And Odahving?"

"The boy? Why he just stood there for a while and then walked off. He seemed kind of shaken by what he heard."

"Hmmm interesting..." Death looked up again. He could see his own yellow soul over the building but the black soul in the atmosphere had disappeared.

"How is Alduin?" Death turned the subject to the other boy.

"It seems like he has awakened and he's coping well."

"I still can't believe it..." Death replied. "A boy who could use Soul Focus...Even now I can't do that anymore. Soul Focus strains your soul such that it constantly shrinks over time. But that boy's soul seems to be expanding instead."

"Huh?" Stein and Spirit gasped. "Isn't the black astronomical soul gone?" Stein showed his doubts.

"No it's just gone beyond our soul perception sight range. I've checked everywhere and I haven't seen any black winged soul around...And the boy is still here. The only logical conclusion is that the creation of his weapons had expanded his soul."

"So how big is it?"

"It should be covering both the Earth and the moon now." Stein and Spirit quickly swerved around to see the voice's source. "Joe!" Spirit exclaimed as the relatively tall and rather well physically built man approached from the entrance. The man had a light chin curtain beard and close-cut hair, which contains four signature darker stripes running from front to back, with one located directly on top of his head and the other three present on the right side. His clothes comprise of a simple white shirt, that has rolled up sleeves and is left open at the top, worn under a black waistcoat with black shorts. "Joe Buttaki... Oceania Technology Development Adviser AND Internal Affairs Investigator..." Stein muttered under his breath as he waved a friendly hello to the man known for having the strongest Soul Perception in the world. In other words, he's a living Hubble Space Telescope right now.

"Coffee?" JB offered his whole jug of what he deems as the best coffee to Stein, who refused it by putting a cigarette in his mouth. Spirit quickly raised his hand to decline before JB got the chance to ask him too.

"I most certainly appreciate it" Death smiled as he produced a coffee cup and willingly allowed JB to fill it.

"So are we certain that the soul is from Alduin?"

"I can't triangulate the actual source due to the soul's huge size but if Stein's report was right, then it is indeed safe to say that Alduin is the owner of the Soul. But we have a bigger problem." JB pointed towards the ground. "Just right under our noses."

Stein and Death's eyes-widened as they looked down. "What? What's wrong?" Spirit, who couldn't see Souls, demanded an explanation.

"There is..." Stein's eye twitched as he begun to nervously turn his screw-in-the-head.

"Indeed.. There is a Soul right in the core of the Earth..."

JB nodded at Death's concerned comment as his eyebrows furrowed. Right under their feet, they could see what seemed to be a Soul deep within the earth. It was exceedingly large, not as large as Alduin's but it was still .on its growth path. The Soul's epicentre was too deep to tell but it was sure that no human could go so deep into the ground. And not only that, the soul possessed angelic properties, its shroud and aura bright white with even feathery angel wings, with sharp ends.

"And it doesn't stop there..." JB pointed up again. "There is a second soul up there deep in space. You can't see it but I can...And it possesses the exact opposite of that other soul's wavelength." JB's strained his eyes as he focused up into the sky, into the great beyond of space. And hidden among the stars, was another soul. It had a chaotic appearance as its maelstrom of rock and metal covered its dark black center. And judging from the distance, it was exactly the same size as the underground soul. And its own wings were that of the devil's, with sharp spikey demonic flaps.

And both seemed to be heading straight for Earth.

**Somewhere far away...**

_**Music Starts: Numb by Linken Park**_

_I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
>Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface<br>_

"Damn how many attacks can this thing take?"

"Hold on! We can still fight!"

_Don't know what you're expecting of me  
>Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes<br>(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
>Every step that I take is another mistake to you<br>(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)_

"Don't give up!"

"No! Retreat! We won't last!"

_I've become so numb, I can't feel you there  
>Become so tired, so much more aware<br>I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
>Is be more like me and be less like you<em>

"Argh!"

"Take this, you beast!"

_Can't you see that you're smothering me,  
>Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control?<br>'Cause everything that you thought I would be  
>Has fallen apart right in front of you.<br>(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
>Every step that I take is another mistake to you.<br>(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
>And every second I waste is more than I can take.<em>

"It's too strong!"

BANG!

"Watch that black hole!"

_I've become so numb, I can't feel you there,  
>Become so tired, so much more aware<br>I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
>Is be more like me and be less like you.<em>

"I need help!"

"TOO MUCH TAINT...MUST...PURGE...MUST CREATE CHAOS...TO CURE TAINT..."

"Shut up you ugly monstrosity!"

_And I know  
>I may end up failing too.<br>But I know  
>You were just like me with someone disappointed in you.<em>

"In the name of the Universe, we will stop you!"

"Idiots! I said we need to retreat! Nirn is in danger!"

_I've become so numb, I can't feel you there,  
>Become so tired, so much more aware.<br>I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
>Is be more like me and be less like you.<em>

"Akatosh! Get away from it!"

"No, I must stop it for as long as possible..."

"GET BACK!"

"Don't be stupid, Akatosh!"

"Hold on, Akatosh!"

_I've become so numb, I can't feel you there,  
>Become so tired, so much more aware.<br>_

"I'm sorry son...I hope you will understand..."

"..."

_I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
>Is be more like me and be less like you.<em>

**Hope you like the last bit and if you do, please do review and tell me so that I will continue with these sort of things. And I chose Numb because I think that it fits both Alduin and Akatosh, especially when you keep in mind on Alduin's reasons to rebel against his dad. So I hope you like it! And Lucifer will be coming out soon!**


	38. Extras: Lucifer

**Bio Time!**

**Lucifer**

**Name:** Lucifer; meaning light-bearer

**Aliases:** The Sword/Spear that is never Beaten

**Race:** Weapon/Dog/Unknown

**Position:** Offensive Weapon of Alduin; Advisor

**Biography:**

Lucifer is a giant blade born out of Alduin's initial attempts to utilize Soul Focus and is bred with the feelings of anger and destruction that Alduin harbors inside his heart. Lucifer can form into a giant claymore with a curved cleaver-like blade and a draconic wing guard and a dragon-head grip. He is also able to coat the blade in an energy coat that grants him increased power. Lucifer, after his achievement of sentience, takes the form of a German Shepherd that talks to Alduin through telepathy. He was chosen by Alduin during his coma to be his true weapon partner and thus he gains a mind of his own. However, the blade is shown in the early appearances to go berserk and somewhat disobedient.

He also appears in Alduin's latest dreams as a guide, with a habit of smoking and pulling out random things from his coat. However, he seems to have no idea what Alduin is talking about when Alduin wakes up, or so he claims. Lucifer has also many a times prevented unnecessary destruction by enlarging himself into a massive form, making him so heavy that he literally crushes a rampaging Alduin back to normal. However Lucifer is limited when Gospel is activated, due to the two weapon forms not meant to be in the same plane of existence.

And so far: Lucifer has yet to have peed or pooped and he has never been taken for a walk outside yet.

**Personality:**

He and Alduin had much strain in their partnership due to Alduin feeling that destruction is evil. Lucifer wishes to show him that this is not true and wants Alduin to accept what is known as necessary evil. Lucifer was shown to be bloodthirsty and mute in his first appearances. However that pure destroying persona has since disappeared when Lucifer was granted sentience and self-thought. Lucifer, in the dreams, is shown to be wise and also casual when he is not fighting and destroying. Lucifer likes to command and order Alduin around, calling him an idiot when Alduin does not react fast enough in battle.

Lucifer does not hate anyone, he merely wishes to destroy. Lucifer even seems to have a kind heart, willingly transforming himself to (unintentionally) protect Odahving from Crona's Screech Omega. He is even able to allow Alduin to use Gospel against Crona, despite his own disgust and hate towards the weapon of protection. Lucifer also has a deep loyalty to his master despite his initial disobedience. He also one of the most proficient people in combat on Earth, with a good sense of combat instincts, providing said advice to Alduin during battle, increasing the efficiency of Alduin's fighting with him. Without this advice, when Alduin uses Lucifer, he would swing erratically, using Lucifer more like a hammer than a claymore. Thus the telepathic connection is crucial.

**Powers:**

**Claymore Form** – Lucifer has the ability to form into the sword that is never beaten. He takes the form of a claymore with a curved red blade and dragon wings as a hilt guard. Lucifer's power and hardness are strong enough to withstand the vibration saw attacks of Ragnorok and is even powerful enough to hold for a while on his own against Screech Omega. Lucifer can also have an energy coating that not just increases his hardness, but also his range by leaving energy after-images with each swing. If an opponent is not careful, walking into the afterimage causes him experience the very slash even though the original didn't hit him.

**Shape Manipulation **– Though he has yet to show it, Lucifer can change his wagging tail of cuteness into a wagging curved blade of wanton destruction. He can also expand his size and also his weight, making him a rather unpredictable weapon to fight against. Lucifer can also manipulate his body shape so fast, that it makes him move about in the air like as if he was levitating.

**Doggy Skills like a Boss** – As shown in the fight with Crona, Lucifer can fight in his dog form. Also, later, in his sword-tail form, Lucifer can use his natural agility and dexterity to move about a fast speeds, while destroying anyone with his sword tail. Lucifer is also a very good ambusher, using the shadows and his prowling abilities as a dog. He also has a very sensitive sense of smell and unlike a normal dog, he can see in all the colours.

**Dragon Soul – **Due to being once a part of Alduin, Lucifer also has a dragon-like soul. Thus his soul power is significantly large and he is shown to have excellent control with it by manipulating his weapon form. It is unknown if he can use Soul Focus or Soul Force/Menace, however chances are he is likely to.

**Liked the latest bio? Hate it? Want to burn it? Well please review and I will be going full steam ahead with the story.**

**Special thanks to Despicable and Soulbuscus for their reviews. I look forward to your future opinions. Thanks again!**


	39. Alduin 33

"No way..." Alduin suddenly felt a very strange feeling. A feeling he had thought he would only experience once. "What's wrong?" Odahving suddenly noticed Alduin's sudden reaction. Lucifer then begun to hang his tail as he whined at one side. But Alduin couldn't respond. The feeling was like that of a deep never-ending emptiness within yourself. Like when you and your dad are holding hands when hiking and then suddenly let go as you two fell down to their deaths.

"Hey!" Odahving was getting worried. 'What did I do wrong?' He thought to himself, fearing it was his fault. But it wasn't.

"It's just like...it's just like..." Odahving gasped. Are those tears welling up in Alduin's eyes? "HEY!" Odahving yelled as Alduin then fell to his knees, as streaks of tears rolled down his face and dampened the carpet ground. He quickly backed away as Alduin suddenly burst into black flames, bringing Soul and Maka to attention.

"It's just like when I rebelled against him..." Alduin moaned as the flames begun to grow and intensify, forming a swirling mass that was too tall for the medical room, the topmost set of flames force to form a fountain-like look as they spread across the ceiling. "When I willingly let myself travel 200 years..." Odahving covered his face with his arms as the heat begun to become a serious problem. He couldn't make heads or tails of what Alduin meant.

"What's wrong with the dude?" Ragnorok screamed as he quickly retreated back into Crona's body.

"I...I...was disconnected...I was disconnected from my dad..." Alduin stammered as the flames begun to take shape, forming and warping by themselves. "And now..." Lucifer gazed on, his canine eyes sad and mourning, as his master continued.

"HE'S DISCONNECTED FROM ME!" Alduin roared at the top of his voice as the flames finally shaped into his own fire wings. Odahving's jaw dropped as he suddenly realized what Alduin was saying. "No way..."

"What? What happened to his dad?" Maka asked him as Soul quickly dodged a stray stream of flames. The medical room was becoming ravaged by the black fire.

Odahving couldn't reply. He can't tell them that Alduin's dad was a god. Now, now he has to calm Alduin down. "Alduin, snap out of it! You might be mistaken!"

"Mistaken?" Alduin's mad eyes with their constricted pupils shifted to look at Odahving with a menacing tone. "I am never mistaken..." Alduin muttered under his breath as the flames begun to dance about him in his very own flaming winged coat.

Alduin gritted his teeth as his mind became a complete mess. The madness tendrils were now screaming with fear as his mind was filled with inexhaustible anguish and depression. His father had been the most important person in his life. To have him...gone...just like that...

"WHY?" Alduin once again gave another ear-piercing roar. And with that last roar, the flames suddenly extinguished themselves as Alduin fell forward, much to everyone's surprise.

**In the Hall of Divines...**

Paarthurnax felt his heart ache as the sense of loss flow through him. His father is gone, thanks to Chaos. Yes, Chaos. Paarthurnax breathed a huge wrathful flame as he begun to swear vengeance on the superbeing. "I will destroy you, CHAOS! And then I will have Order bring our dad back! I swear that on both my and Alduin's life!"

His rage sated, Paarthurnax frowned as he once again begun to contemplate on what to do after Ahzidal's failure, his determination to bring the plan to success burning more brightly than ever before. He will let Order win. And he will create a world, no a dimension, that is truly fit for the gods. "You must understand, Alduin. This is for the best." Paarthurnax moaned to himself as he lugged his draconic body, now tired due to the disconnection from Akatosh, onto the center of the Hall. As the glass-like floor revealed Nirn, Paarthurnax now had no more doubts that he was doing the right thing.

As his eyes gazed upon the burning and savagely ravaged planet, he grimaced as now two angelic wings had protruded themselves from the Nirn. The first phase of the plan has worked. Order has taken over Nirn as its first stronghold. Paarthurnax watched as the planet was washed in a blinding aurora of light. When the aura dispersed, what was left of the planet was nothing more than a husk of its former self. A mere body. Its surface was devoid of neither water, nor land. It was mere blank emptiness and gas. Its exposed core was now a dying hue of blue and even now the moons of Nirn were being crushed by the hand-like protusions from the angel wings.

This is just a first phase. An ugly first phase. "_Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever_." Paarthurnax hummed to himself as he watched Order work its mystical magic on what he could no longer call Nirn. After all, Nirn ceased to exist just a few minutes ago.

**In The Death Room...**

As JB, Stein, Spirit and Death watched from the platform, they were distracted from what was a single little hourglass sitting behind the mirror.

And as they heard Alduin's roar, in the form of a thunderous dragon's furious and mourning bellow, the last bits of sands in the little hourglass's top half finally dropped.

And so a new age would begin.

**So Akatosh's death affects both brothers greatly, making one a nervous wreck and the other a more fanatical crusader. And the hourglass pops up again. What shall Alduin do next?**


	40. Alduin 34

"Is he gonna be okay?" Maka spelled out everyone's concerns as they watched Alduin once again lie unconscious in the medical bed. Odahving looked from the side, his arms akimbo and a grim expression on his face. 'It can't possibly be...Akatosh is gone?' Odahving thought to himself. Black Star and Tsubaki had already arrived when they heard the commotion, the ninja boy having gone out to clean up whatever mess was made by Ahzidal.

"Alright people nothing to see here, the guy needs his time to rest..." Soul tried to disperse the crowd around Alduin. But no one budged. "Odahving..." Maka turned to the red head as he looked back at her in attention. "Yes?"

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Odahving gulped nervously and with a bit of irritation when he heard the question. He wasn't exactly a specialist on gods and immortal beings. No, he's just the second-in-command. 'Wait a minute, how can I think that?' Odahving mentally slapped himself. Odahving turned to gaze at Lucifer who was sleeping at one side too. Well, the dog has a telepathic link with Alduin. Why don't you ask him?

"Urgh...um..." Odahving struggled to answer. Mix in the fact that they have to keep up the lie that they were time-travelers and he has a pretty big job to deal with. Finally, Odahving found the right excuse. "The time travelling process might have resulted in our memories being left behind, meaning that they have to take time to come back. Obviously, Alduin had just now regained memory of his dead father. So naturally he gets into an emotional outburst."

"His dead father?" Soul was now also listening. "Surely he wouldn't forget that?"

"You can be surprised..." Odahving replied back to him.

"So how long is he gonna stay like this?" Maka asked again. 'Urgh...damn god...humans are always so unusual with their suicidal curiosity. What do I look like? A fortune-teller?' Odahving frowned with brief annoyance.

"Ask the doctor himself. I'm not the diagnosis machine." Odahving breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Maka nod with satisfaction.

Then Soul suddenly interjected. "Hey...has anyone taken Lucifer on a walk?" "Wha?" Both Maka and Odahving stared blankly at him. "I'm just saying...he's a...'dog'...even though he is a rampaging killing machine blade at times..." Soul whispered the last part under his breath. But seemingly Lucifer has taken offence, as the dog's eyelids shoot open to reveal his own fierce glare. Soul cowarded behind Maka as Lucifer begun to pick itself up, stretching itself here and there. The dog soon wagged his tail in anticipation for a walk, his tongue hanging out in a sort of begging pose.

Odahving sweat-dropped at the idiotic scene. Then he noticed Maka and Soul, plus a popping out Ragnorok, staring at him together with expectant eyes. 'Great. Just what I need. Peer pressure...' Odahving grimaced.

"Alright...alright...I'll take the little canine out for a while..." Odahving sighed. Besides, he needed the alone time.

Now first things first.

"Anyone got a leash around here?"

**Somewhere else...**

"Where am I?" A voice in the dark whispered as it tried to feel its way out of the dark chambers. It was unnecessarily loud, as if the owner had been wearing earphones while talking.

"Where are you indeed?" The next disembodied voice was twisted and cold, as well as with a tint of pain.

"Why are you still...?" The first voice yelled in shock.

"Alive? Heh..."

"You will make a very fine scout..."

"Wha...ARGGHHHHHHH!" The sounds of blood spurting and the dancing of paper-like blades echoed through the pitch black hallway.

"There it's done...Looks like the whole universe has gotten a lot more interesting for me...Whoever these beings are, I wonder if they even understand what Madness is..."

**Back to Odahving...**

"Aw man..." Odahving sighed as he watched Lucifer take a typical fire hydrant for a toilet. Looks like someone doesn't really need to have the finest and most unique of toilets.

_Somewhere in the academy, Excalibur suddenly gets the urge to sneeze._

"I wonder how you can even have the dignity to pee in public..." Odahving shook his head as the dog did its business. Even dragons don't do it. While maybe because most of the time, no one ever wants to interrupt them while they are having a toilet break. Not if you want to live.

Odahving looked around the central square area he was in at the base of the Academy Stairs. "More like the 7000 Steps..." Odahving whispered to himself. Then his eyes caught Lucifer playing around and then moved down to look at the leash he was using to hold the German Shepherd. Involuntarily, his fist begun to tighten around the leash as veins popped out of his arm.

"Look at me now..." Odahving lamented to himself as sat down at a bench while Lucifer played about. "I used to be the greatest dragon but now, I'm just a mere dog-walker..."

Odahving could feel both temper and depression rising withing him. Ahzidal's words are now nagging at him more than ever. Like incessant little voices that erode at your sanity soundwave by soundwave. "I'm sure...Alduin would feel the same as an ex-god but now that I look at it, he became so powerful within such a short time. He gets Soul Focus, Lucifer, Gospel and he has even beaten a Death Scythe. Hell, and he even has a soul that is as big as a planet! Then what about me? I just sit here, learn all the words and that's it? That's it? I'm so weak in this world. Crona nearly blew me away. And I couldn't even scratch Ahzidal without Stein's help."

"The second-in-command..." Odahving muttered the word that he had heard so many times. "Ahzidal got it wrong. The fanfictions got it wrong. The stories got it wrong. Everyone got it wrong. The second doesn't always kills the leader..."

Odahving then blinked as the inevitable streaks of tears exited his eyes to start their slow journey down his face. "...but he is always forgotten...Lost in the sands of time..."

"I wonder..." Lucifer thought as he began to notice Odahving's self-pity.

"Now...now...now I can only from the sidelines and watch Alduin fight it out and whatever I do, I screw it up. I'm useless...compared to him...I'm a mere ant in his shadow..." Odahving shook his head as he buried it into his hands. The dampness of the tears could not be felt, his senses dulled by the despair he was in. "If there is indeed a destiny...what is mine? Is this my fate? Just to be the mere filler person to stand there, clapping and cheering while the protagonist wins? To be the bummerhead who looks from the sidelines and freeze in shock when the main character gets hurt? I don't know what use am I in this world?" Odahving's voice begun to rise in volume, to the point that he was roaring.

Lucifer watched in anticipation as Odahving's own red winged soul begun to grow around the boy. Lucifer gritted his teeth as Odahving's fist clenched so hard that anything in there would have been obliterated. "This is it..." Lucifer thought as Odahving's own hands begun to show what looked like wisps of flames. Now is the moment for the dragonboy to show his worth and become the true second-in-command. "Maybe I..." Odahving begun to whisper, barely audible to Lucifer. "He's making his own answer right now..."

Lucifer grinned and nodded in approval as the wisps increased in intensity. "Odahving's own special powers are about to show themselves! He is about to make his own directive..." Lucifer smiled in delight as now fiendfyre begun to engulf Odahving's lower arms. Just a bit more time and determination and Odahving will make his own answer. And become more than a second-in-command. "Maybe I..." Odahving nearly has it.

Just a little more time.

Just a bit more focus.

Unfortunately...

"Use? Use? Who would even have any use for a pathetic one like you?"

Whoosh...Lucifer's eyes widened in stunned silence as Odahving's fiendfyre disappeared in a flash. "No...no...the crucial moment!" Lucifer cursed in shock. "What happened? What broke his focus?"

Odahving gasped as his concentration is broken by the sudden vocal intrusion. "Huh? Who's there?" Odahving scanned around him quickly but apparently there was no one around. Then where did that voice come from?

"Who's there? Who's there?" The voice laughed in a mocking tone as Odahving jumped up, picking up a plank he ripped off the bench.

"All I see..." Odahving felt his Adam's apple push against his throat as he gulped nervously, beads of sweat now mixing with what remains of his tears. What does the voice see?

"I see a little nobody who stupidly THINKS he is even a second-in-command...A nobody who doesn't even have a proper weapon, just a plank."

Odahving felt his forehead form an anger mark as he begun to follow where the voice is. Lucifer looked on. "What's wrong with Odahving? And what's up with this sinister presence I feel?" Lucifer barked at Odahving to get his attention but Odahving's hearing only focused on the voice. The voice only he could hear.

"SHUT UP! Where are you?" Odahving replied with a menacing yell as he reached an alley way. Despite the time being afternoon, the shadows in the alley made the way dark and almost...unsettling. "Where am I? Why don't you come and find out?" The voice is definitely in the alley. Odahving begun to run headlong inside, much to Lucifer's surprise. "Wait!" Lucifer tried to scream but it only came out as a bark. Curse his dog form! As Odahving disappeared into the darkness, Lucifer attempted to follow him in.

Bang! "OW!" Lucifer whined as he felt his head hit smack into what seemed to be an invisible wall at the alley entrance. "No!" Lucifer knew what was happening. "It's a trap, Odahving! Odahving! ODAHVING!" Lucifer yelled but it all came out as frantic angry barks and howls. And as for the red dragon-boy, he seemed to have faded into the shadows themselves as Lucifer searched desperately for what had happened to his master's second-in-command.

"Where...where am I?" Odahving wondered as he begun to slow from his running pace and slowly creeped down the dark alley.

"Where are you? Well, you are with me..."

"Huh?" Odahving finally halted as he turned back for a look. His jaw dropped as the path he had taken before had disappeared, replaced with a large concrete wall that blocked his way from getting out. Then he picked up the sound of metal grinding against metal and gawked as metal plates begun to cover the area above, cutting him off.

"A trap?" Odahving wielded his plank with swift alert but no one was still in the alley with him.

"You won't be needing that..."

"Huh?"

Odahving froze. He could feel a hot musty breath right beside his ear. It brushed against his skin as he tried to resist the creeping feeling of shock and terror. Whoever, or whatever, is talking to him, is just beside him. And worse, that voice was familiar. Too familiar.

"I'm sure you know who I am already. But just to confirm..." Odahving felt a shiver went down his spine as his teeth chattered. His grip on his mediocre weapon tightened, then relaxed, his muscles jittery and uncontrollable.

"Why? How? Is it really...?"

"Jooh Zar Frul..."

**So the mysterious voice Odahving hears knows how to shout. But what shout was it? And who was it? Here's a hint: Find out about the shout and you will get a better chance of guessing who the voice belongs to! Cheers to everyone.**

**Thanks Soulbuscus, Spartan-S999, Despicable for all your reviews and PMs!**


	41. Alduin 35

"You know, this fanfic has too many dreams..." Alduin wondered as he found himself in what seemed like a never-ending space of swallowing darkness. However, the element seemed to make him feel at home as he floated about in casual patience. However, something irked him deeply. Like he had forgotten something.

"This is not a dream...it's merely a protective state your mind has taken..." Alduin gasped as a female voice now permeated throughout. It was soft, yet profound. Tranquil, yet disturbed. Alduin looked down at his shield bracelet. "Gospel?"

"Indeed..." Alduin gasped as Gospel glowed with a blinding light, as well as a high-pitched peaceful hum that relaxed him. He looked in awe as a figure begun to walk out of the aurora. She showed herself as a beautiful little girl, about the age of 13. Her brilliant white hair flowed down to the small of her back as she skipped in her bare feet, which caused soft ripples of light in the medium of darkness. She gave an assuring light smile as her innocent eyes changed colour with each minute, with every colour light and relaxing. Her peerless smooth complexion with the color of soft snow had a translucent sheen to it. Alduin stared, dumbfounded, at her with a look that spelled: "I could kiss you now, but I don't want to be a pedophile..."

"So like it?" The girl's voice was now sweet, with a tone that could make a stone-cold guy melt.

"Um...I guess so..." Alduin stammered, as he felt a total unnecessary blush appear on his face.

"What's wrong?" The girl stepped closer. She was about at Alduin's mid-chest level, forcing him to literally look down on her.

"I was expecting a..." Alduin scratched his head, not knowing how to say it. "Well...you see, Lucifer is a dog..."

"So you expected a cat?" Perfect smack on the nail's head. "You mean like this?" Alduin gasped as Gospel moved her hands such that they are like that of a cat's begging posture. "Nya..." Gospel gave a heart-warming smile as she hummed the word, along with an adorable little tilt of her head.

"Cute..." Alduin felt embarrassed with himself. First, he had fought an entire region of humans in Skyrim. Then he crash-landed into an unknown planet. Then he had to fend off three super-enthusiastic meisters. And soon his own weapon of destruction nearly kills him almost two times. Follow that with a clash against a super-angry almost impenetrable Black Blood Death Scythe Meister. And now, he get's 'cuted' to death? "Aw...hell no..." Alduin quickly reminded himself as the little girl begun to continue.

"It's a bit unoriginal, don't you think? Besides, a certain well-endowed purple lady has already taken that idea."

"_Achooo!" Blair sneezed as she tried to work in the Chupa Cabra's Club. "Aw man...I got the cold again..."_

"So why in the world are you here?"

"Looks like Lucifer had to take a walk. So I'm the one who now takes your side in this place." Gospel grinned cheekily as she begun to dance around the darkness, creating a beautiful dark lake with ripples of light forming an amazing scene. Alduin could not but whisper. "That's...lovely..."

"Reminds me when I was in the Hall of Divines at its peak. Gorgeous, grand and also incredible..."

"You really seem to have forgotten..." Alduin jumped as Gospel suddenly appeared right in front of him, nose to nose, with a curious yet concerned face.

"Forgotten? Forgotten what?" Alduin subconsciously begun to dig inside his mind but the same vacuum was still there.

Gospel hung her head as she stared grimly at the wondering Alduin. "Looks like your mind took the precaution of sealing off your most recent memories."

"What memories? What do you want me to remember?" Alduin pressed on.

"It thinks that disconnection was too strong for you..." Gospel seemed to be ignoring Alduin's questions, as she thought aloud. She begun to walk a short distance away as she pondered.

"Disconnection? Hey, I'm talking to you!" Alduin was about to grab her shoulder to get her attention.

But Gospel got the jump on him as she abruptly turned and asked him straight on. "Tell me how your dad looks like."

"Huh? Why would you want to know?"

"Pretty please..." Alduin looked awkwardly as Gospel showed lovable puppy eyes. If only Lucifer can do that...

"Alright, let's see..." Alduin begun to rack into his brain on how to describe his dad. Though something seemed wrong. Very wrong...

Whatever, whoever his dad was, Alduin could only find remnants of what he was. Gospel gave a pained expression as she watched Alduin begin to realize slowly what had happened in the past hour.

"No way..." Alduin finally understood why he had this uneasy empty feeling ever since he came into this realm.

"It's okay. Your dad won't want you to break down just like this..." Gospel assured Alduin as she patted his shivering shoulder. He was beginning to remember. "You of all people should have already realized that you can't go on relying on Akatosh all the time..." 'That's why his mind decided to put him in this protective state so that he can take the whole force of his father's death at a slower pace...' Gospel hypothesized.

"Ay...Aye..." Alduin felt two short brief tears drop down his face and as they hit the dark floor, he clenched his fists in utter sorrow before falling on his knees weeping. Gospel watched as Alduin cried there in solemn silence, giving him the dignity to at least mourn his dad for a short time. Two minutes passed without any sound other than that of the drip-drop of tears hitting the ground. Gospel could not help but dwell in guilt as she watched Alduin cry. She was meant to be his weapon of protection. To think, they never had the chance to protect the thing he had held as his most precious.

'And there's more to that...' Gospel thought as Alduin begun to pick himself. 'Akatosh's death places Alduin as the next Supreme God of Time. But in his current state, Alduin can't take such a burden.'

She gawked as Alduin begun to speak, his voice calm and collected, unexpected from a person who had just lost his father. "Don't worry...I'm fine..." Gospel's surprised face softened into that of relief as Alduin held his clenched fist in front of him.

"When I came to Earth, I told him that I would claw my way back to the Divines. Those were sadly my last words to him. But now..." Alduin smiled as his fist burst into black electric fire.

"His death has given me the drive. The drive I needed to defeat Chaos and Order! I never needed to claw my way! I realize that this human form was to teach me the meaning of powerlessness, fear, hopelessness. To show me how humans can keep up with their hope! And soon I will understand their humanity! Watch me, you super-beings!" Alduin roared as he pointed to the dark sky with his finger, giving a solid challenge to the ancient powers. "I will change the world, the universe, the dimensions!"

"I will change myself!"

As his roar rang through the empty realm, Gospel smiled as Alduin relaxed himself from his stance. "Just watch me, dad..." Alduin whispered under his breath, as the boy doused his fire. "I'm ready." Alduin turned to Gospel, waiting in anticipation. She analysed him for a while, then shook her head. "Wha- Why not?" Alduin gawked in surprise.

"You have the determination, but you lack the means. You can't understand humanity until your body is ready. It's just like Galileo Galilei. You know, the one who said that the planets spun around the sun. In your history and science classes. The heliocentric theory. Smart man, brilliant and innovative. But he lacked the support, the power, the position needed to push his discoveries into a concrete foundation. If he had it, the humans would have travelled to space a lot earlier than before." Gospel smiled as she sat down on the dark floor with her arms around her legs while brushing her hair away from her face.

"But it won't be long..."

With the last assuring statement, Alduin nodded in agreement. "I guess I got a bit too pumped up to beat up Chaos for destroying my dad." This was suddenly met by a Chop on the head, as Gospel held her own Gospel book. "Wha-" Alduin was about to ask why she Gospel Chopped him but the girl explained.

"Be careful, Alduin. You must focus on both Chaos and Order. Else, you would do just what your brother wants to do...And now, he's probably even more fanatical..." Gospel moved a bit to allow Alduin to sit beside her.

"I guess so..." Alduin admitted as he looked at the black sky. "Have you ever thought about what to do about him?"

"Paarthurnax?" Alduin brooded at Gospel's sudden suggestion as the girl immediately interjected. "Don't worry Master Alduin. Tell Lucy when you decided. I'm just the girl who will protect you and all you love at your most needed time."

"Lucy?"

"Lucifer. He hates it when I call him that but he looks so cute when he's annoyed." Gospel laughed to herself. "You mean, you two have been within me for a very long time?" Alduin considered this possibility.

Gospel nodded in acknowledgement, her cheerful eyes now a light natural green. "Me and Lucy had been part of you ever since you were born, Master Alduin. Though of course, we never directly showed ourselves when you were a dragon.."

"I see..." Alduin went quiet for a while, then he continued. "Gospel?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I chose Lucifer over you...I mean you could be a girl prancing about Death City...You are not only beautiful, but mature, caring, sensitive. Lucifer...well, Lucifer wasn't exactly what you would want as a partner..."

"Are you sure about that?" Gospel gave a light Gospel Chop on his head. "Didn't he say he would have your back? Lucy might be more aggressive and destructive than me but that's just who he is. He doesn't hate anyone. He just understands that the necessary evil is needed to bring a better world. I protect the innocent and he destroys the guilty. I can never make the hard choices that he has done before. And I don't mind being just your bracelet. Though would you like a watch instead?"

"No thanks." Alduin declined with a raised hand and a smile. "Seems like you really respect Lucifer."

"Have you heard of alignment? Well, Lucy is a sort of Chaotic Good person. It's just like your best friend keeps on avoiding you all of a sudden and you feel that he is giving you the cold shoulder. Then a few months later, you realize that he was actually being targeted by assassins and was trying to protect you from them."

"That sounds like a movie..."

"Yeah it does, but don't you know, that every time Lucy kills a person, he is actually doing it to save them from their misery and difficulties."

"Merciful destruction, huh?"

Gospel nodded. "Oh! And your friend, Maka, seems to have some problems of her own. You might want to look into it."

"Huh?"

"Lucy didn't tell you. But the reason he attacked Maka was because she was the most emotionally disturbed then."

"Thanks. I'll ask her about it."

"I'm sure you will. She's the first person you met on Earth right? Now it seems like you have grown on her." Gospel giggled, much to Alduin's embarrassment. "I'm not..." Alduin was just about to retort back.

"Now lookey here...Someone was talking behind my back..." Gospel and Alduin gasped as Lucifer suddenly appeared in between them, the German Shepherd lying on the ground with a blatant "Why wasn't I invited?" look on his face.

"Lucy-kun!" Lucifer gasped as Gospel wrapped her arms around his canine neck, her arms buried into his brown-black fur. Alduin looked on at the two, Lucifer's eyes popping out in a very exaggerated manner while he gasped for air under Gospel's crushing hug. "Gospel...you are...strangling me..."

"Oops, sorry, Lucy-kun!" Gospel laughed sweetly and apologetically as she let go of Lucifer. "Ha...ha...ha...thank you..." Lucifer nodded as he tried to catch his breath. "Why are you here?" Alduin quickly asked, dumbfounded that both of them are now in this realm, where now the darkness begun to stir with the presence of the two conflicting weapons. He appreciated that Lucifer is here too but something felt very wrong: as if a disaster had happened just minutes ago.

"I'm using a long-range communication technique to your mind. Odahving is in danger!" Lucifer explained short and quick. Hearing this, Alduin's eyes widened as Gospel had a grim frown on her snowy face. "What do you mean danger!" Alduin shot up from his seating position, his black flames reflexively came into action.

"The boy was in the middle of an epiphany when he suddenly seemed to hear something. Then in minutes, he ran into an alley and disappeared. The alley had a barrier that I can't seem to break through, even with my weapon form. I need some MASTERful energy to break it."

"You mean me right?"

"Yes. But that's not all! I felt a sinister presence of chaotic power just when Odahving seemed to lose his focus. I think...I think...since Paarthurnax has become Order's representative..." Alduin gawked at what Lucifer implied. Gospel made it obvious. "So Chaos is targeting Odahving as its representative?"

"Yes..." Lucifer scowled as he bared his fangs at Chaos' name. "I should have seen this..." Gospel turned in surprise as Alduin hung his head, his fists vibrating with visible anger and pain. As his nails dug into his skin, Alduin could barely feel the pain of blood begin to creep out of his hands. "Master..." Gospel whispered.

"It makes sense now. Odahving's trance when he came back. Ahzidal must have told him something. Something that really got to him..." Alduin recalled Odahving's scared and moody state when he came in. The boy's eyes were then speaking volumes of his worry and yet Alduin had been too preoccupied with his own things to even regard. He just asked him whether he's okay and what happened. Like a normal captain would ask of his second-of-command.

"Don't blame yourself. Odahving would have come up with the answer himself if he wasn't distracted at the last minute. The boy was just about to show his powers." Lucifer assured Alduin with an unusual paw-pat on the back. "But right now, we need to find him."

"Yes..." Alduin agreed. "Gospel! How can I wake up?"

Gospel blinked, as if Alduin's request was ridiculous. "Eh?"

"How can I get out of my dream?"

"This isn't a dream, Master. Your mind is protecting you. Go out now and you will turn into a vegetable."

Alduin backed away at the word 'vegetable'. He wasn't going to be much use to Odahving as a tomato. If that was what the word meant. "Really? No other way?"

"Sorry. You have to wait until your mind is ready."

Alduin then looked at Lucifer, whose colour-changing right eye looked into his own, awaiting his orders. There was only one other option. "Lucifer, go back to the medical room and find everyone. Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tusbaki, everyone."

"How will I tell them? I'm a dog." Sweat-drop at inappropriate moment.

"Think something up. You just need to show that Odahving is in trouble and get them to follow you. Can you do that?" Lucifer nodded in acknowledgement. "Good luck..." Alduin blinked blankly at Lucifer's last statement before the dog faded away into the thin black air, wagging his tail to no end. "What did he mean by 'good luck'?" Alduin asked Gospel, who quickly jumped up and gave him a big warm hug. "While your mind is recovering, it's time to train a bit." Gospel chuckled as she faded into her bracelet form, once again resting neatly in Alduin's wrist. "You sure you don't want a watch? Training can take a long time." Gospel spoke in his mind. Which is kind of insane, since she was technically in a mind within a mind.

"No thanks. But remind me to watch Inception next time. You know that movie about dreams..." Alduin replied with confidence as the darkness begun to disappear. "Gotcha!" was Gospel's promise. He readied himself for what his mind will throw at him, as the silver shield came into hand. Probably just a few madness tendrils.

And what happened next wasn't really what he readied for.

"Is that...me?"

**Looks like I've really revealed a lot about the plot through this conversation. And now the first true epic fight: Alduin vs Niudla. And I hope you like Gospel's appearance. Thanks for your reviews and support and I will keep them coming.**

**Have a happy new year!**


	42. Alduin 36

**Meanwhile...**

"I'm getting kinda of worried..." Maka stated to Soul as they placed Alduin back in his bed. Odahving had just gone out to walk Lucifer a few minutes ago and Black Star was cleaning up the medical room with Tsubaki.

"Worried about what?"

Maka took a deep breath as she continued. "Alduin has been in medical for so many times. I think he's pushing himself too hard. It's like he wants to prove something to someone."

Soul pondered at her suggestion. "You sure about that?"

"Trust me. Alduin seems to be very burdened. Shouldn't we be trying to help him?"

"Well, he's got Odahving by his side. I think he should be fine. After all he came from the future, right? He should be prepared for this."

"Yeah, about that..." Maka went quiet again, hesitant to continue. Soul picked up her reluctance and his blood-red eyes narrowed with concern.

"What?"

"Alduin and Odahving...they are too..." Maka was about to finish her stammering sentence, but then a loud series of barks and growls quickly interrupted the conversation. Maka and Soul jumped up to their feet from their chairs while Black Star turned his attention away from moving a certain pulverized fridge. Their jaws dropped when they see a large German Shepherd come charging in, barking furiously. And his leash flailed about wildly behind him, with a certain red-haired boy absent.

"Where's Odahving?" Maka thought out loud.

**Somewhere in the Academy...**

"FOOLS! Who built these passageways? They are simply too wide!" Excalibur exclaimed to himself as he skipped about on his two very rabbit-like white feet, twirling his staff. Somehow he had managed to slip away when Alduin went berserk. Somehow the god's father had died and Alduin noticed. Maybe he should feel sorry for him. "Anyway...these passages are still too wide!" Excalibur cheered to himself as he began a dancing walk through the passage.

To be honest though, the passages are too empty. Way too quiet. And way too dark. Excalibur's wide circular eyes gazed at the windows, their curtains completely drawn out. "What fool makes a passage so dark?" Excalibur murmured to himself as he flicked open one of the curtains with his staff. But he jumped back when he saw that it wasn't the curtains. The entire outside was now a foul black darkness, which obviously spelled evil. Excalibur gasped as his staff he had used was swiftly and brutally mauled and disintegrated as the darkness swallowed it.

"A spatial displacement technique. Like Independent Cube. Except much more...chaotic..." Excalibur thought as he strolled deliberately to the middle of the passageway.

"Who's there?" Excalibur shouted out in his more serious deep voice. He rarely had to use it but now wasn't the time to play happy-go-lucky holy sword. Before he could shout out any more, a sudden tentacle of darkness blew out from the ground, just barely inches from his pointy nose. "Damn!" He cursed as he swiftly dodged from the tentacle's swipe, debris falling onto the tremoring ground.

"That's it? That's all you will throw at me?" Excalibur demanded as he faced the now anticipating tentacle. But he spoke too soon as more and more tentacles begun to mow their way out of the now battered and cracked floor, all rising up to face Exalibur with expectant looks.

"Guess I spoke too soon..." Excallibur roared as he charged at the tentacles, who curved about to swarm around and engulf him in a giant dome. If he was going to go down, he was going down without a fight.

**In an unknown world...**

"Where...where am I?" Odahving murmured as he picked himself up, his breath shallow and frantic. His vision still remained blurry and dark as his legs buckled under him. It was like when he turned into a human. That Dragonrend had clearly done its work on him as he continued to remain grounded on his four limbs. As his vision began to slowly come back, Odahving breathed a sigh of relief as the effects began to wear off. That compressing feeling on his chest was dispersing and his muscles were no longer as spasmodic as before. The metal taste in his mouth was disappearing and his hair came back down to their normal casual style over his eye, having been standing on ends as if they were electric shocked.

"Damn it." Odahving gasped as he finally managed to stand once again. But he was soon shocked when he find out where he was. It was a very large dark outer hall way, with passageways and stairs leading up to a second-level at both sides. And he was standing on what seemed like a giant balcony, with an impressive view of snowy mountains in the distance and a much more nearer giant plain. A plain he knew where one could find club-wielding giants and four-tusked mammoths and maybe the occasional bandit den hidden in a mound. And even a dragon or two flying around.

"Skyrim..."

Odahving stepped away from the balcony as he began to walk into the hall way. At the very high ceiling, he could see a large beam curved into a shape of the top half of an executioner's guillotine, without the blade of course. Its wood was of the finest ever in Skyrim and has a hard yet smooth feel to it. And how does he know that? He had that giant beam once slam over his neck. Yes, that beam was a trap. A trap meant to catch him immobile. And this place was the back of Dragonsreach, where he was first summoned and captured by the Dragonborn and the alliance.

As Odahving stepped on the very place, just under the giant dragon trap, the where he remembered having his first conversation with the human and how they negotiated a deal to have him fly the warrior to Sovngarde, in exchange for his life and freedom. That was the start of a pretty good partnership. Every now and then, he would be called to deal with the most difficult of opponents for the Dragonborn. Just like a...

"Second-in-command..." Odahving whispered under his breath. "No one's here...except for us..." Odahving turned swiftly to face whoever had used the shout against him. The figure cloaked in complete shrouds of total bleak darkness stood attentively at the balcony, just a few metres away from Odahving. He couldn't see the face of the culprit but the voice was too familiar for him to not know who the figure was.

"It's been a long time since we've meets back here again...Dragonborn..." Odahving gritted his teeth as he stood ready for a fight, looking for a weapon he could use. Whoever the person in front of him was, there was no way the Dragonborn could have crawled out of Paarthurnax's stomach.

"I see that you are still as naïve as ever, Odahving..." The voice was still as smug as ever, as the figure seemed to be gliding in the air, like an ethereal spirit, forever out of touch with the world. The Dragonborn-lookalike circled the cautious Odahving, probably looking for an opening. "Naïve?"

"Yes, naïve and powerless...Or so what so many people think..." The figure cackled as it produced a large black katana from under its shroud. The Ebony Blade. The blade that relies on the killing of one's loved ones to grow in strength. "So you are gonna kill me to feed that cursed blade?" Odahving glared, his eyes now fixed on the sword, as its owner waved it about with unnatural ease and grace.

Then the culprit threw the blade to Odahving.

Odahving yelled in aghast as he grabbed the blade's hilt in surprise, stumbling back. Almost instantly, a sense of sinful madness tried to intrude into his mind and Odahving screamed in pain, his nerves screaming that the blade wasn't meant to touch him. In his mind, he could hear the cries and screaming of the murdered souls that the blade has consumed and made use of. They were like those of being tortured to no end and bound to the blade like eternal slaves. Steadying himself, Odahving gazed with his narrowed flinching eyes at the figure, who held out its arms as if in a prayer to the skies. "Now, strike me down! And you will no longer be that mere little second!" The figure taunted him with its growingly maddening voice.

Odahving was shocked by the figure's sudden suggestion but a quick penetrating snap of pain in his mind made it almost impossible to think. As it grew increasingly more painful to resist the offer given by the Dragonborn, Odahving felt the simple swing of the Ebony Blade so tempting and so easy. And so he began to stumble closer and closer to the figure, who continued to taunt him with vulgarities and false promises of glory. The madness gnawed and chewed at him like a ravenous beast, his lack of focus a symptom of its advance. As he unsteadily and painfully held up the Ebony Blade above his head, Odahving's vision blurred as he tried to zero in on the standing figure. Then just as he was about to finish this entire business, the figure lifted its head, allowing Odahving to get a full view of the Dragonborn's face.

Shirk! A rush of wind breezed through Odahving's hand as he tried to catch his breath. And he looked on at the blade, stopped short of the Dragonborn's head by a few mere centimetres. With sheer force of will, he threw the accursed blade to one side and dropped to the floor, his mind having been severely ravaged by the blade's madness. The blade clang harmlessly to the floor before reaching the balcony's very edge, in danger of falling off down into the plains below. Odahving expected the Dragonborn to retrieve it and then strike him down. Instead the figure simply stood silently and watched without a shred of regret or worry as the Ebony Blade finally tipped over and dived down into the depths, forever lost.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

Odahving couldn't move as he looked on in shock at the figure seemingly clapping for him. "As expected from the second-in-command. You possess incredible resistance and strength of will. Not only that, you are also humble. Humble enough to rid yourself of the only way that will allow you to become the leader." The figure cheered from him. Odahving couldn't detect whether it was sarcastic or genuine. "Such values are meant to be spread, don't you think?" The Dragonborn asked with an unusually high amount of respect.

"What sort of game are you playing?" Odahving spat at her with malice and he tried to move his arms for a punch. Fatigue however still prevented him from doing just that.

"I am telling you the truth. Your humility is an incredible power of yours. It allowed to appreciate even humans, despite your dragon status. And even now, you still persist with your humble ways by throwing the blade away. Isn't it good? Look at Skyrim. It is such a stark contrast from what you are. While you are humble, it is arrogant and selfish. While you are kind, it is cruel and torturous. Back-stabs come at every corner and every alley has its own little business. Even the dragons themselves don't agree with your humility."

"So what? Everyone deserves their own views."

"Yes...yes...I agree with that. But these 'own views' aren't exactly helping to keep the planet alive, is it? Isn't that why your dear leader Alduin had to sacrifice his own status to help Nirn?"

"How did you know about that? You were part of the ploy too! You can't be her. You can't be the Dragonborn!"

"Maybe...but that is me. But what about you? You too were also part of the whole plan right? But even now, you still feel bad that you have somehow let your lord down by fighting against him even when he was in his mad state! That just shows how humble and good-hearted you are."

"What are you saying?"

"Wouldn't it be so much better if there were more 'you'? The world can become a better place and even maybe, be saved. You have seen how so many deserving people have been lost in history and disappeared while others continue to live beyond their necessary lifespan by being engraved in history books, texts and articles! Even now, Adolf Hitler still lives! Mao Zedong still lives! And then what about the 60 million people who died in World War 2? How many of the present time people remember even the name of a single common person among those 60 million? None!" The Dragonborn seemed to be on a roll as it continued to laugh and lecture.

"Then what makes those 'presidents' and 'leaders' deserving of their unforgettable place in history? What makes them more deserving than those 60 million? Nothing! In the course of history, the humble are erased in smoke while the arrogant and smug continue to live due to their supposed 'influence' on humanity! And then their children will become just like them, to become immortal and to become bastards! Let me quote an even more recent event. I hope you're done your history! Osama bin Ladin. He's dead along with 3000 people that he killed in 9/11. But why is it I say his name instead of the 3000 other people's? Because that bastard has made himself immortal through history."

"You are wrong...the families of those 3000 will remember them..."

"Now that is definite but can each family remember the names of the other 2999 that died? And then can each family remember who did it? No and yes. The man is evil and yet we allow him to be immortal. He's evil and yet we allow him to live on in our memories. Why should we?" The Dragonborn yelled into the sky in fervent holy rage as the skies began to cloud.

Odahving cringed as the Dragonborn's words begun to drill into his brain. "I...I...It's impossible to remember every name..."

"Aye...it is. Then we will have to take the other path. Let every name be forgotten when the person dies. Let everyone disappear from history and even make history cease to exist. Then all will become humble and no one has anything to be arrogant and obnoxious about. The perfect world where everyone is forgotten."

"That's an idiotic idea!" Odahving cried as he tried to rise up but his body was being surpressed by the words. Somehow, his words are increasingly making sense to him. "What are you doing to me?"

"You? It's not me. It's yourself who's doing that. You might not want it but your mind agrees with my words."

"Show yourself, imposter. You are no Dragonborn."

"Yes, I know that. I am actually a fragment of Chaos..." The figure finally revealed its true nature as it crept closer to Odahving.

"Why..."

"Chaos can help you build such a world, humble one. The world where the fittest survive, where everyone is forgotten and no one is allowed to live forever. The world where the strongest positions always change, where no one person can become leader forever. You will lead the creation of this world...and then you will die in order to start the flux of power. A never-ending world of paradigm shifts. A true chaotic world." The fragment hissed as it spoke into Odahving's ears. And no matter how he tried, he could feel something wrapping his mind, making the idea more and more appealing. It is starting to make sense. A true world of chaos where everyone is now humbled and no one can become an arrogant leader. Where there are no seconds, no thirds, no fourths, no infinities. And where no evil allowed to live, even if good has to follow the same fate.

"Ye...Yes..." Odahving could feel a stinging sensation in his heart. And as he rose up, his body began to sting everywhere but he didn't even flinch.

"Humble one...receive the gift of chaos..."

**And yes...Odahving is the third antagonist of this fanfic. And his goal: a world where nothing but chaos and humility exists. A constant non-stop survival of the fittest. And who will be his partner? Here's a hint: check out the name "Arondight". Thanks and please review.**


	43. End of Book 1

**This marks the end of the first 'technical' book and I really appreciate everyone's support.**

**Don't worry this is not the end of this Elder Sky Eater Fanfiction. This is only a milestone and an appreciation page.**

**Thanks to Welnakia (Evy and Mimi) for helping since I started this account two months ago.**

**Thanks to Despicable for sticking with the story for so long since the very beginning.**

**Thanks to Soulbuscus for being the second to jump onto the review bandwagon(and for giving the word Sky Eater)!**

**Thanks to Spartan for not just the reviews, but the PMs that you give to answer my quiz questions.**

**Kudos to Reddragon and prancing deer for their favouriting.**

**And finally thanks to Hitode for putting me on your alerts as my latest new year's gift. Thanks!**

**Cookies to all of you. (:::) **

**And waffles! [++]**

**And thus Alduin Fallen comes to an end and the sequel will come in the next chapter! Presenting: Odahving Rising.**

**And here's a happy new year to everyone out there!**

**You can review anything! I am also accepting any requests for OCs or music suggestions! PM or review!**

**Oh and finally a sneak peek at an OC who will be coming:**

Nobie looked up at the sky from his window. It was as bright blue as ever and the clouds were nowhere to be seen. As he promptly sneezed into a tissue, he looked out at the nearby carnage and destruction that the Avatar of Chaos has left behind. 50 buildings destroyed, 300 people obliterated and 1 already pulverized refrigerator disintegrated. All in one fell strike of that dark blade.

But for now they are safe. Everyone is safe thanks to the crests. The boy smiled to himself as he began to write again into his book. As his baggy short pants brushed against his seat, the 8-year old wrote down all the good things that are happening down into his very special book. Someday...someone out there will find this precious artifact and learn from it the world he lives in today. Hopefully, there will be a someday. And in his heart, he wishes and knows that that it wasn't the end of the world yet. As long as they have help and that person with them, they should be alright.

Nobie assured himself with these words as he closed his book to end another entry. The little vessel of human knowledge was browning, due to 8 years of use, and its edges were bent from constant flipping through to read his life so far. Yet, the brown-haired boy with his cheeks flushed like tomatoes refused to throw it away. For it was a gift from a certain someone. Along with the very rare-looking precious stone he had found on the ground the other day, the two items were now important to him. Gazing at his new rocky paperweight, Nobie beamed with pride as he examined the ancient prehistoric stone, trying to understand what it said. Its rough but fine surface felt like a massager in the palm of his hand and rubbing it against his face made him feel relaxed. The stone looked timeless with its craggy old look but Nobie could not help but admire the presence it seemed to permeate. However, he still couldn't comprehend what that little inscription meant.

It only said: "Akatuin".

**So hope you like this little peek into the next 'book' and a happy new year! And let me give you a hint why Nobie is so important: flip his name around.**


	44. Extras: Skyrim Madness

_**The Madness**_

_**In the manga everyone is shown to have little bits of madness inside them and even in the anime this is also true, especially with Stein. But what about the Skyrimmers? What are their madness? Well, I thought about this for a while and so I show you the madness of four of our Skyrim characters.**_

**Alduin:** Madness of Humanity. This is both a result of Alduin's mental degradation through 200 years of travelling in the fourth dimension and his rage at his inability to change the world of Nirn despite his godly powers. This madness is based on the fact that he has shown himself to be human despite being a god, powerless to change anything no matter how much power he uses. To him, power becomes meaningless and he thinks that the world never changes no matter what you do. And when he is now a real human, the madness comes in even more force. It takes the form of tendrils that wrap around and strangle Alduin, while taking over his body in a berserker state. Alduin attempts to counter the madness with determination and drive but with Lucifer in hand, he uses the blade's destruction property to destroy the tendrils in his mind. However, the tendrils still come back and he has yet to find a permanent solution to it.

**Odahving: **Madness of Humility. Due to his constant and never-ending status, Odahving has a very humble feel to himself and he always sees others as being worthy of his allegiance and help. This gives him a second-in-command complex and frustrates him when he seems to be of little help to those he assists. Coupled with his supposed lack of development and recent battles, Odahving has allowed this madness to get to his head and he has yet to find a defence against it. When in full madness, Odahving has a belief that all creatures should be humble and that everything should end being forgotten. History and fame becomes useless to him and he believes in a world where no one is above the other and all are equal. This world takes form in a very crude brutal meritocracy, where the best survive and power is in constant flux, never staying with a dominant person for long. While it also means that if this world exists, Odahving will eventually be overthrown and killed by it. However, his humbleness will lead him to accept this as mere fate.

**Paarthurnax**: Madness of Hope. Even now, Paarthurnax is shown to have placed all his hope and trust onto the one plan that Order will create a 'perfect' universe. This is what it means by madness of hope. It makes one a crusader, a fanatic and also suicidal where in which one will not think twice to kill himself to allow the plan to work. Hope came to Paarthurnax as a good thing at first, where it helped him brave some of the most difficult of times and granted him a very hardy self-esteem. However, he has turned so reliant on hope that it turns into a drug and when Nirn seemed to be unable to change itself from its dark ways, Paarthurnax searched frantically for something to pin his hope on and that was when he snagged onto Order. And became its representative.

**Ahzidal: **Madness of Admiration. Though faint, Ahzidal has shown signs of admiring and even idolizing Odahving due to his position as the most powerful dragon of Nirn. When Ahzidal sees that Odahving betrayed Alduin, his respect grew and his madness took hold. This leads him to desire to be as strong as and stronger than Odahving. Soon, when he comes face to face with this hero he had idolized so long and realized that this was no longer the same Odahving he had known, he flies into a rage, leading him to become mad and destructive.

**Hope you like my newest Bio edition! And please review or PM me!**

**Thanks!**


	45. Odahving Chapter 1

First off, just to be clear, he was in his mind, not in his dream as Gospel always kept on reminding all this while. Which totally does not make sense since he can't understand how he isn't thinking inside his own mind. A mind in a mind, huh? Again he'll have to watch that movie again...

"Inception, right?" Alduin blurted out as he rolled out of the way of flying debris. As a fire breath came heading his way, he raised his shield in opposition and the stream of flames smashed into the silver surface, leaving the ground in front of him smoldering. "Yep!" Gospel cheered with her voice hyper as ever and with a push, she dispersed the flames out of the way. And just so you don't know, Gospel is the silver shield.

"It's kinda of weird, don't you think, Gospel? Talking to a shield?" Alduin stated as a black claw came sailing over his head. Alduin could barely react before a second claw came punching right into the center of his shield. Cursing his carelessness, Alduin was sent sliding backwards a few metres, leaving skid marks on the snowy ground.

"Shield? I'm a girl!"

"Well you are technically once a part of me, so you can't be female..." Alduin blankly stated as he backflipped over the spiked tail, his hair being scratched off bit by bit from the close shaves. "Who says so!" Gospel cheekily retorted as Alduin landed on his feet before ducking under the tail returning for his head. "Well your master does!" This conversation was getting kinda frustrating when you are fighting against a superiorly strong and powerful dragon god.

"But damn...I look ugly!" Alduin stared in disgust at himself. Yes, you heard correctly 'himself'. And no, not himself himself but a himself. "Now I'm getting confused!" Gospel yelled out as she shook in enthusiasm in Alduin's left shield arm. "You ain't helping!" Alduin shouted back as he felt the air grow chilly and a frost breath came flying inches past his head.

"Do a barrel-roll!" Gospel shouted at him.

"I'm trying!" Alduin quickly followed her suggestion and he dodged under the cold breath and the fate of turning into a boy popsicle. As he stumbled in his 360 landing, he managed to raise Gospel fast enough to meet a ferocious horned black draconic head, with an elongated snout and blood-red eyes. "Well kind of funny seeing eye-to-eye with myself..." Alduin mused as he pushed the head back and then jumped over a claw attack, which proceeded to create a trench-like hole in the ground.

"Man, how long has it been since I came to Earth? Three weeks?" Alduin thought aloud as he deftly dived out of a twin-arm cross attack. "3 weeks, 1 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes, 9 seconds...Make that 11 seconds now." Gospel smiled as her master quickly used her hard body to smash down the annoying ball-and-chain of a tail. Alduin thanked her as he then swiftly did a round-house shield bash into his mouth. Wait not his own mouth, but the dragon's toothy mouth. "How long have I've not seen the dentist?" Alduin yelled in disgust as the dragon's musty breath whirled into his nose. As he jumped back out of a retaliatory claw strike, Alduin thought back to how he got to Earth.

3 weeks, 1 day, 4 hours, 15 minutes and 40 seconds ago, the boy used to a god from Nirn. Well, if you look at him now, he doesn't really look like a god in his baggy black jeans, similarly black trenchcoat with a white undershirt, along with accessory bandage around his right hand. Just to remind how an electric lamp works. And when he was a god, he was a big giant black dragon. And according to whom he is facing now, a very ugly-looking dragon too. Sure he looked himself in the reflection of water and lakes back then but I guess when you are about a midget compared to a giant dragon, things look a lot more different from this persepective.

"Let's call you Niudla, okay?" Alduin smiled as the snow storm came over head, blankets and waves of swift flakes pounding against his human body. Gospel agreed with an excited voice. "Excellent choice, master!" She was quickly interrupted by a giant roar as Niulda came charging at him, its black winged body streamlining itself to pick up speed. "Well he's pissed..." Alduin sighed as he breathed in deeply. "TIL!"

And a sudden wave engulfed the entire area and within moments flat, Alduin watched as Niulda began to get slower and slower, until his charging black mass was at a snail's pace. Time Slow and yes, that was a shout. Alduin beamed to himself as he ran past the giant dragon, making sure to avoid touching it. The shout slows time but the force behind the charge is still there. One touch and whatever responsible body part would be fly away in bloody pieces before you can say, "You violated the law!"

Realizing its target had managed to get behind it, the fiery dragon skidded its massive body as it tried to turn in vain. Alduin was satisfied as the dragon failed to stop itself properly, its hulk of mass tipping over as the dragon rolled into a mess of wings and claws. "Better finish up quick!" Alduin thought in a hurry, rushing forward. His right hand began to burn electric black flames that fitted like a glove, giving out a cackling sound. Soul Focus. A neat little ability he gained ever since he came to Earth.

"Eat this!" Alduin roared as he gave a solid flaming punch into Niulda's face. The burning fist managed to break through the hard dragonscales and Alduin felt glee when his hand touched the warm covering texture of blood. But he was vulnerable and Niulda knew that too.

So did Alduin. With a swift move of his arm, Alduin placed Gospel right in the black dragon's face, just when the rising glow of a fire breath approached from the back of its ugly maw. "Burn yourself!" Alduin smirked as he did the most sensible thing to do. He shoved Gospel down the Dragon's mouth, just as the flames came in full burst.

As his eyes managed to get close enough to be literally eye-to-eye with the dragon's confused pupil, Alduin witnessed the dragon trying to scream. The blockage of its mouth with Gospel created an almighty accumulation of consuming flames. Unfortunately for Niulda, when the fire can't go up, it has to go down. "Erm...are you going to leave me in him?" Gospel nervously asked but Alduin had no time to answer back as he let go of her, pushing himself off the rough dark head. As he landed, his feet once again kissed the snowy cold ground, which was a thousand times better than the super-hot dragonskin. Alduin gazed on as the roaring dragon begun to glow from his stomach area and he winced as its red eyes were now being burned away, replaced by lighted embers. The dragon flailed about in blind desperation, its scythe-like claws missing Alduin by metres several times and its tail creating craters everywhere it whacked.

Finally, when the glow piercing out of the dragon reached its peak, Alduin then went on to use a new trick of his.

With a wave of his shield arm, black flames shoot out in a flurry to form a chain between his now burning left arm and Gospel. "Thank god!" Gospel cheered at her savior. Steadying himself, Alduin gave the electric-like fire chain a quick forceful wrench and within moments, a screaming shield came flying out of the dragon's mouth, right into his hand. "Don't throw me again..." Gospel warned as she tried to catch her breath, her wits shocked by her brief flying experience. "We'll see about that!" Alduin joked back as he slammed Gospel's bottom edge into the ground, readying for an explosion.

Sure enough, red orange flames began to break through and pour out of the dragon's blazing body, as the wings began to catch fire. Writhing and squirming, the dragon rolled about in the snow but the flames were already too much, as the snow evaporated into steam. The last thing Alduin heard was Gospel's voice as he himself pressed his body against the shield. "Roasted dragon in 3...2...1..."

BOOOMMMMM!

Alduin could barely see anything as a torrent of bright flames came bursting out, swallowing the dragon in a literal tsunami. Alduin thanked Gospel for her anti-heat properties right when the wave smashed into her silver glistening metal. If she didn't have that, he wouldn't be able to carry her in the first place. As he tried to avoid touching the blazes spewing out from both sides of the shield, Gospel then laughed and executed the same technique as Lucifer, glowing before widening her body into a literal shield wall. Within seconds, the inferno was sucked back into the epicenter of explosion, before rising forth as a pillar of dark smoke.

"Dinner is served..." Alduin ignored Gospel's cheeky remark as he pulled her out of the ground and looked upon the scene. Where Niulda had been a moment ago, a large pile of ashen gray ash and burnt ribs was left. The ground was also blackened by the intense heat with a circle of dragon blood around the center of explosion. Alduin smiled as he looked upon his apparent victory, though one question still prevented him from bursting into cheerful joy and happiness.

"I just killed myself, right? So was that murder or suicide?"

Sweatdrop.

**Yeah! The first chapter of Rising Odahving! Hope you like it and look forward to your views! And also to everyone interested, I am accepting OCs and music suggestions right now. Just PM or review their summaries and I will reply to you soon.**

**Alduin: Wait a minute! Did I just own myself?**

**Gospel: I wouldn't call it 'own'. I'll call it FATALITY!**

**Alduin: And what's up with the time I've been on Earth? 3 weeks, 1 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes, 9 seconds?**

**A.D.: Inspiration source (Pi Pi the wonderful Pi...3.14159...)**

**Alduin: What the heck? What the hell is Pi?**

**Odahving (in an all-knowing way): Pi is the number that is infinitely long and revolves around the laws of circular objects.**

**Alduin: Hey Odahving! Where have you been?**

**Odahving: Just here to introduce my new friend here. Meet...Excalibur...**

**Alduin: WTF are you crazy, Odahving?**

**Excalibur: Gentleman...I am extremely honoured to meet such astute GENIUSES...**

**[Everyone gazes at Excalibur as silence passes for dramatic effect.]**

**Alduin (slowly): What the fuck...**


	46. Odahving Chapter 2

Akira just had to go and get the groceries. He just had to be the one passing by THAT spot. He just had to be the one eye-spying that little trickle of black smoke from the alleyway. He just had to stop and check it out, morphing out of his neon bike-form. Yes, you heard him right. He's a motorcycle. A one heck of a weapon. Most people are surprised to see a motorcycle speeding about without a driver, as if it was on autopilot.

His name is Akira Toyo. Toyo referring to that motorcycle company in Pakistan. Kind of makes him wonder whether he was made there. Ah hell...never mind. Akira slowly treaded towards the alley, the pillar smoke growing in strength and length. "What the hell?" The brown-haired teenage kid donned in a ruby red motorcycle jacket with a wheel design on his back. Usually, Cyril would be here as well if there was danger but like Akira said, he just had to be the one getting the groceries.

"Any one in there?" he cupped his mouth and hollered out at the pitch dark alley way. The simple passage looked eerie, not just in a scary way, but also in a very dark sinister attitude. It's giving him the creeps. And even worse, that tremendous silence after his shout gave the path an even more powerful impression. It was like the very scene out of a horror moviee, where one would just walk into a alley before being ambushed by whatever horrors one's imagination can make. His legs shivered as the DWMA Weapon took a step in.

Wrong move.

Boom! DWMA reflexes kicked in as Akira quickly butterfly kicked, making his airborne body parallel to the ground, just when the column of smoke wentsweeping for his legs. By some twist of fate, the smoke had gained sentience. "That was close..." Akira sighed, regaining his footing. The dark smoke tentacle looked on at him like a predator would look at its prey, its thin slithering body dancing like a python, watchful for Akira's next opening.

"I take it you are not friendly..." Akira smiled as the wheel on his jacket begun to change and in a glowing visage, a real Tron-like motorcycle wheel appeared on his back. It glowed neon blue, with a very techno-glow to it. Akira gazed at the smoke creature towering over him poised to strike, a clear serpentine head now visible. "Bring it on." Akira goaded as he raised his hand and did a classic 'come and get me' finger taunt.

The monster didn't take long to do that. Swirling into a spring-like cloud mass, the serpent sprung towards Akira with the speed of an arrow. "Not very smart, are you?" The vehicle-weapon jumped over the snake's cloudy body, clearly avoiding its charge. The snake gawked when it collided face-to-face into a streak of blue neon light. Like in the movie Tron, Akira's back wheel can leave behind a trail of light that can cut anything that pass through it. Akira grinned triumphant as the snake was split right in the middle, its body unable to stop itself while the light acted like a chainsaw.

To finish it off, Akira's lower legs then glowed to reveal wheel-like protrusions on their back. The legs themselves were now covered in metallic like shin guards, with lines that glow blue on them. "MOTOR!" Akira roared as he did a spinning split drop kick, the wheels rotating on the spot. As his legs hit the snake's body section that was yet to be cut by the light streak, the wheels did their work, ripping through the smoke medium and cutting the snake of from his upper body. As he recovered from his attack, Akira looked in glee at the scene. The left-over dissected body flailed about headless, smoke pouring out from what seemed like a central blood vessel in the center of the snake's streamline-body. That's gross, having smoke for blood.

Time to finish this.

Akira charged right under the raised left-over body and then he put his hand on the ground in a one-handed handstand. As he lifted his palm such that only his five fingers touch the ground, he willed them to transform into mini motorbike wheels. "Let's go for a ride!" Akira cheered as he began to feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. "SPINOUT!"

Akira then begun to spin, his five mini finger wheels spinning him about on his one hand. As he picked speed, his own body was now just a blur, much to the aghast of the smoke serpent. His legwheels began to spin as well as he became a literal tornado, the wind now begin gathered up by all the rotation. The snake was unable to escape the huge pull of the turbine-like attack, as its left-over body was yanked closer and closer to the mini-tornado. And then the lights came into action.

Like ribbons of searing hot energy, light streaks began to fly around the tornado, acting as devastating cutters to whoever got to close. And who else was too close other than the snake itself. Screaming in terror, the snake was ripped millimeter by millimeter. Light sliced through it like it was butter. And the resultant ribbons of smoke are pulled even deeper into Akira's attack, which was now rotating at the speed of 600 rotations per minute. His legwheels kick into action, using the wheels to grind up all that entered the eye of his tornado and soon what was left of the snake was just aimlessly floating smoke. That too was now pulled into the tornado to join in with the swirl of air.

Seeing that his adversary was now nothing more than dust now, Akira begun to do his most dreaded part of the attack: slowing down. As he quietly and steadily reduced his speed of rotation, Akira was careful as he stumbled back on his feet. His wheelfingers reverted back to their normal form and he flexed them, making sure they were still good. The blood that was entering his head had made him giddy. Seriously, he felt like he was going to puke any moment now. That finisher was still in its prototype stage. Time needed to get used to it: Probably a few more weeks. Cyril always told him to forget trying to perfect the attack. Guess he understands why.

"Well...at least it's dead..." Akira breathed a sigh of relief as he looked down the dark alley once again, the same bone-chilling cold coming back to him. The snake had seemed to have disappeared, leaving behind only a stump of it lying harmlessly on the floor, only about a half-metre long. However, he still couldn't see the snake's soul.

"That's strange...I really expected a regenerative factor to be in such gaseous creatures..." Akira rubbed his temples while he cracked his fingers and stomped his legs to awaken them from their dizzy sleep.

"_Hydra..."_

Akira heard a voice, a very creepy, gruff and menacing voice, with a tone of command behind it. Along with it came a presence. It's not one of those presences that sends chills down your spine. Instead it was shaking his very soul as Akira suddenly found it hard to breath, grabbing his chest. The voice spread from the alleyway and Akira gasped as he felt a swirl of air wash over him like an ocean wave. And with that, his eyes widened in shock as the smoke began to reform around the last little stump.

"Shit..." Akira tried to shake off his headache as he activated his wheellegs again.

But a sudden whiff of smoke wrapped around his leg, midway of transformation and pulled it, causing Akira to lose his balance. What used to be a serpent of smoke now seemed to have two heads, as their necks branched out from the area where the stump had ended. As their black-red eyes finally came to form, they regarded Akira with cold hard contempt. "Oh double shit!" Akira cursed as he rolled to his left just inches away from a snake head slam, causing a deep indent in the ground just beside his fallen body. If that had hit him, he would have been a pretty gross pancake. Then he quickly rolled to his right as the other head came for him. Bang! He was now deadlocked between the two heads, trapped. As the two-headed hydra raised its heads for a final strike, a certain German Shepherd came out of nowhere.

"ACK!" The hydra screamed as the dog's transformed tail smashed right into its body from the top. The tail was too fast to see clearly, but it sure was effective, sending the two heads of the hydra flying away into the flaw, cleanly cut off from the neck. But the dog swiftly did a horizontal tail slice at the rest of the body, dissecting its entirety just as cleanly as the last time. The body parts each flailed about briefly, before finally resting and dispersing into complete smoke and pools of black blood.

Akira's jaw dropped as he noticed a tainted black-green soul rise out of the smoke, with the dog growling at the free soul as if it was still a menace. Finally, the dog's tail whipped about and Akira got a very clear view of it. The dog's tail was like that of a giant curved blade, which protruded from a lightning-bolt like end that connected to the dog's bum. The blade was black in colour, jet black, as its 1.5 metre mass, which was far bigger than the dog itself, wagged about in traditional doggy style, creating massive air waves. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the soul was cut in two by the tail as the dog executed the final blow. Giving a loud deathly howl, the soul proceeded to disintegrate into thin air.

It's opponent gone for good, the weapon dog turned to gaze the shocked Akira with what seemed like indifference, as if telling him that it would cut him into shreds without a whim if he misbehaved. As its tag hung from the dog's amethyst-colored collar, Akira managed to spot an inscription on the metallic gold plate surface.

Lucifer.

**So I've taken Akira Toyo from Despicable(thanks!) and have added him into the story. You will be seeing more of him soon and the person named Cyril as well. But the first signs of Chaos have appeared and the mysterious voice has come. Lucifer makes his book debut in his hybrid form! Hope you like it and please review!**


	47. Odahving Chapter 3

Aw great. Just great. Soul gritted his teeth as he witnessed first-hand the badass-ness of Lucifer, as the air pressure produced by the dog's wagging sword tail blew away what scraps was left of the snake's soul. If only he could be that cool. The moment he saw the two-headed snake, he could instantly catch on that something was definitely wrong with the alley that snake had popped out from. Looks like even if that German Shepherd And now another boy was dragged into it. Which means another problem in their hands. Just great.

Soul looked on as Maka ran up to the side of who Soul recognized as the boy named Akira, her black trench-coat already donned and buttoned over her normal school uniform. Black Star almost simultaneously zoomed past him to Lucifer while Tsubaki quickly caught up, yelling at him to slow down. The dude Akira was dressed like a motorcycle gangster, with a red jacket that had a burning wheel insignia on its back, and a white shirt underneath. His lower body wore a ripped-designed blue jeans and his blue eyes were behind a pair of black motorcycle glasses. His brown hair was styled in a short faux hawk, which seemed to contribute to his punk-like theme.

"You okay?" Maka extended her hand to their fellow Academy classmate. "Yeah...no thanks to you humans..." Akira moaned as he was brought back to his feet. Soul huffed when he saw the boy's somewhat ungrateful attitude towards Maka. He always wondered how the auburn haired girl is able to take insults from other people. The only time she never tolerates insults is when it comes from him or Black Star. Hence the Maka Chop descends.

"You're Maka Albarn right?" Akira asked before turning to Soul. "Soul Eater?"

"Ye...Yes..." Maka and Soul awkwardly answered. They never really did talk that much to people outside of their gang and even worse, Akira had been seating 4 rows in front of them, closest to the teacher, so they definitely barely had a chance to converse with him.

"Uh...guys...is an alley supposed to act that weird?" The extremely brief conversation was interrupted by Black Star as everyone turned to look at the alley, with Lucifer's growling in the background. And they gawked at what seemed like a spatial distortion in the alley. What used to be a straight path into the dark passageway was now twisted round and round to form a certain sort of spiraling black hole. However they weren't being sucked in by intense gravity like a normal black hole.

Instead Soul was sure, along with everyone else, that something very powerful and very sinister was just about to poke its head out of the darkness, into their world. The presence exuded by whatever was about to come out, made Soul's teeth chatter uncontrollably and he was sure that his heart had stopped. His breath became hard and shallow. His head felt like two hands were grabbing it and pulling it apart. His legs shivered like there was no tomorrow. And all this while, he felt like peeing in his pants, but the presence even prevented that from happening.

"This feels just like..." Black Star whispered under his breath while Lucifer now seemed to have taken a very grim and aggressive stance. But in this very deep, intimidating silence, even a mere mutter could be heard by everyone.

"Asura..." Maka muttered back. Asura. THE Kishin from 800 years ago. One of the Eight Great Old Ones, Death's group back then. "But we defeated him..." Soul tried to remind them but the presence was unmistakable. It was either that of Asura's or that of another Kishin.

"Here it comes..." Akira broke a sweat as a hairline crack appeared in the distortion of space.

SHIRK!

Everyone gasped as a hand burst forth from the crack in the distortion. They held their breath as the hand started to feel around carefully and slowly. As its digits gripped around the edge of the spatial fracture, a very ghastly and disembodied voice could be heard as the hand began to literally rip the very fabric of space of the distortion. "ARRRGGHHHHHH!"

"Get down!" Soul quickly pushed Maka out of the way as a flying piece of dark space flew into the spot she had been a moment ago, bouncing for a while before dissipating into the air. As they landed on the ground, they looked in shock at who walked out of the ripped hole in space. As the red-haired boy stretched his back as if he had been asleep for a while, the hole begun to close itself up and the distortion seemed to disappear, resulting in a very normal creepy-looking alleyway once again. Maka, Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki all had their jaws dropping as the very-familiar teenager strided out of the alley as if he hadn't destroyed a piece of space just moments ago.

"Odahving!" Everyone except Akira and Lucifer exclaimed in surprise.

"Where have you been?" Maka was just about to walk up to welcome their friend from the future but Soul quickly stopped her with his hand, which swiftly morphed into his red-black scythe blade. There was something about Odahving that was downright scary. His eyes, which are supposed to be red, were hidden in the shadow of his black hair as Soul could feel a shiver went down his spine at the sight of the familiar boy. "What's wrong?"

Soul glanced at Lucifer, who seemed to nod at him as if in agreement. The dog was definitely much more reliable at discerning an enemy than Maka. Odahving regarded them with aloof silence as Maka tried to understand what was happening. "Geez...can't you see something's wrong with him?" Soul stated to her plain and simple.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure..."

"Can you really sure about that, Mr. Soul Eater Evans?"

Soul's and Maka's eyes widened when Odahving begun to speak in a very dark menacing voice, much more eloquent than usual but yet in a sinister way. "What if...you were the one who has a problem?"

"What the hell are you talking about? How you know my full name?"

"Your full name isn't the problem...Your relationship with your meister is." Odahving grinned maniacally while his eyes remained hidden. Lucifer growled at him, his teeth bared as if someone else had taken Odahving's place.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think your place as her weapon really diminishes you? Makes your potential so diminished, don't you think? Won't it be better if you just...fight for yourself?" Odahving emphasized on the last few words as if it was a suggestion. In fact, Soul could feel the words trying to wrap his mind like a pencil and eraser would on a piece of written work, replacing its text with something entirely different.

Luckily Maka helped him out. "Hey! If it weren't for Soul, I wouldn't have been alive many times! Don't speak to him like as if I had been having him under my heel this whole time!" 'You tell him, Maka!' Soul thought in relief as he was shook free from the venomous words.

"Oh really, Maka Albarn? Now let me ask you...Why do you whack Soul all the time?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you ever think about his safety? Don't you ever care about his mentality? Don't you understand how crazily dangerous it is to whack someone on the head?"

"I...I..." Maka stammered, much to the surprise of Soul and the glee of Odahving, who pressed on.

"I guess you don't really care...After all, you just want to go down in history just like your mum was able to. You want to reach the standards she had placed and beyond. So you will do anything, even whack your partner, as a means to that end. Tell me, Ms. Maka, what appeals to you more, becoming the greatest meister in the world or sitting together in the dumps with the people you know as dirt?"

"Shut...Shut up! You can't just assume everyone is like you!" Maka instantly covered her mouth when she said the word 'you' and everyone looked at Odahving who seemed to have taken the insult quite horribly.

"Me? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" His laughter seemed to be maniacal and crazy, unnerving everyone watching. He continued to speak in the midst of bursts of laughter. "Oh..oh Ms. Maka, you and all you humans really do look down on me...Hahahaha...now what in Chaos makes you think that I ever thought that you are similar to me in any way at all...hahahaha..." Then the laughter disappeared. Just as fast as it had started.

And Odahving raised his head for the first time since he appeared and his expression was that of resentment and hatred. And his eyes were now drastically changed. They were no longer cherry red as Soul had expected before. Instead they were heterochromic, with his right a very dark tainted blood-red. And his left was that of a spiral of purple around a black center. Like that of a black hole. The mark of Chaos.

"WARRGH!" Everyone gasped as Lucifer immediately pounced on Odahving, bearing his sword tail down on his head. BANG! And they gawked again as Odahving blocked the tail with his lower arm, as if it was made out of diamond. "Don't be a fool, Lucifer!" Odahving spat as he grabbed the blade and threw Lucifer a good few metres away, the dog recovering to his feet just in time to receive a palm strike. "Maka!" Soul yelled out and he quickly transformed into a scythe, which Maka responded with surprise. "Soul?"

"Don't just stand there. We need to help."

"But Odahving..."

"He's an enemy now! A Kishin! You should know that once you tasted that foul presence of his!"

"But...But...Alduin said back then that...that we can't just pass off a someone who was an ex-human as a Kishin! There's got to be another way!"

"He only said that to challenge you to question your purpose. Don't let it get to your head! Just do it and end this threat quickly! If we are lucky, we might even be able to beat him to senses."

"I guess so..." Soul smirked as he felt Maka's gloved hands tightened around his body, her resolve to defeat Odahving now more and less solid. If it wasn't, he knew that they wouldn't be able to survive.

"Whiii!" Lucifer whimpered as Odahving choke-held him with a hand. "Hey, Odahving!" Maka shouted as she raised Soul above her head. "Take this!"

"I might as well will..." Odahving murmured as he solidly stopped Soul's blade with his other hand. "Wha-?" Maka barely got time to react before Odahving threw Lucifer into her stomach, as the trio are sent flying. "So powerless!" Odahving cackled as he flexed his arms.

"Hey! How did you forget me?" Black Star demanded for an answer as he neared Odahving for a Soul Force, his electric hand out. "And me?" Akira yelled along with him, his wheel-legs ready for another Motor kick.

"Easily..." Odahving sighed as he gave a small finger-flick at the duo, the type of finger-flick one would use on a bug. And BANG! Black Star and Akira were shocked while a huge blast of force, the size of a bullet train, blew them back to the ground. Akira crashed into the side of a house while Black Star landed right beside the dumbfounded Tsubaki. "Black Star!"

"Pathetic..." Odahving shook his head in resignation. His hand readied another deadly flick of the finger. "All of you can't survive in the new world. I won't allow it."

Flick!

KABOOM!

And far away from the scene, another weapon known as Xeal Dragomir watched from the Academy lobby in complete and utter horrification when a huge area of houses and suburban area were blown away in a total destructive wave of power. A thundering noise filled the air as the wave wrought its path of destruction. Huge dust clouds filled the area while the ground tremored vigorously, causing Xeal to gulp nervously. The 2-star weapon had never seen such strength before and now this show of domination was happening in the wrong place.

"I see...my master calls to me..." Xeal gasped as he spun his body around to look at the dark silhouette in the shadows of the Academy, spying on him.

And then the silhouette disappeared, like a ghost slipping into the darkness.

"What in the world?" Xeal whispered as he quickly turned his attention back to the incident.

A lot of weird things are going to happen in the next few minutes. He just knew it.

**Hope you like this latest update! Please review and thanks to S-999 for his contribution of OC Xeal Dragomir! So Odahving has been turned into an antagonist now and shows incredible strength and power. And the silhouette? Well I guess...how Death will hold up against with a Kishin paired with the strongest weapon in the world? TAKE THAT ASURA! **


	48. Odahving Chapter 4

"My...my...you are resilient...Odahahaha..," Odahving mused with his new signature laugh. His piercing eyes looked on at the place his flick had annihilated. It was like an Full Mag 10 earthquake had come through it, the houses decimated and their ruins piled up in mounds of stone and cement. Dust was raised in the air, floating aimlessly while the wind now blew about the place, hindered no longer.

Then he finally regarded the 5 people who were dragging their bruised exhausted bodies out of the mounds, their insignificance having blinded him from noticing them in the first place. Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Akira. All five of whom hope to leave their names in history. Whether it was as _a superb meister_, _a masterful pianist_, _a great family_ _descendent, a being beyond god or an experimental success_, all that didn't seem to matter him. That mere desire to be in history disgusted him to the core. To his very SOUL.

"Cack...caough..." Maka gagged as she spit out a piece of wood and a cloud of dust from a mouth. "Damn this..." Soul shook his black jacket free from its small blanket of dirt and dust, creating a cloud that he quickly tried to fan away.

"I'm god..." Black Star was clearly knocked out, but his durability proved his savior. "Black Star!" Tsubaki yelled at him in her usual motherly concern. Akira was the fastest to recover, the boy already on his feet standing in defiance at the watching Chaos Odahving. Actually make that the second fastest.

Odahving grinned as he quickly spun around to catch a huge black blade-tail sent forth by Lucifer between his two palms. The dog could not speak but his canine eyes already spoke tons about his aggression and feriocity. "Of all the people to fight me, a mere German Shepherd stands in my way...What do you want? A treat?" Odahving was amused as he and Lucifer fought to a standstill.

"Why does one who possesses the power of destruction even help the mere humans protect their pathetic world?" Odahving challenged but Lucifer seemed unfazed as their souls began to clash, shockwave by shockwave arising. Odahving felt his grin grow even wider as he smelled the familiar waft of Lucifer's soul; Alduin's soul.

"I thought the humans were interesting but that was truly pathetic of me! Most humans desire to be important and to be famous. And then what happens? Desires are conflicted and power is divided. The weak become forgotten and the powerful become remembered for their evil deeds! And every charity, every donation, every volunteer work, every shred of good goes down into someone else's dirty pocket. Wars are started. Treaties are broken. Chaos has always ruled the world with an iron grip. I'm just making that grip a bit more tighter. Don't you understand that?" Odahving looked once again into Lucifer's eyes for signs of empathy but none was given back. So be it.

"Go ahead. Fight one for the humans. Destroy the bad if you can. Actually, I have you to thank for bringing me to this great alleyway. And now look at me! I desire a REVOLUTION! A complete overhaul! A total rework at the world! And Chaos will provide that!" Odahving gritted his teeth as he finally overcame Lucifer with a surprising jump-up to a superior upper position, allowing him to bring Lucifer down to the ground. "I'm sure Alduin will agree! I'll ask him myself later!" Odahving yelled into Lucifer's ears, his hand raised for a fatal palm strike.

Boom! Odahving glared when Akira came to the rescue, giving him a powerful roundhouse kick, powered by his wheel's rotation, to his nose. "Take that you Kishin!" Akira grinned at what seemed to be the Kishin's head being whipped backwards by the kick. Surely that should have broke his neck.

However, Kishins are just a bit out of his league. Akira gasped at what seemed like Odahving bending his back at an impossible angle to receive the force, before steadily returning back to normal position, seemingly unharmed. Not even a bloody nose. "You will regret that..." Odahving threatened. Then he raised his open palm, now aimed at the offending boy.

"OOF!" Akira felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, the cause being a very strong massive palm-strike into his chest area. But just as his limp body was about to fly back, Odahving grabbed him by the collar, causing a very painful lash in his body. His leg instantly felt limp and numb, as if it had been dislocated by the force. As Akira tried to catch his breath, Odahving brought him close to look at him for an eye-to-eye.

"Now listen here, little boy...I'll first start with dismantling you bit by bit before I use your parts to become my personal leg-rest. And then when I am done with your pathetic existence, I'll make sure you'll never even have gas in your engine..." Might not seem very intimidating but to a motorcycle weapon, it's a nightmare. "Like I'll let you..." Akira spattered in pain, even spitting blood into Odahving's face. "Why you..."

"You've got spunk, kid."

Akira gasped as he felt Odahving's grip loosened. He dropped to the ground face-first while the good doctor went on to give another Soul Force into the seemingly unsurprised Odahving. As the Kishin took the hits like a BOSS, Stein hurriedly jumped back to Akira's side. "Doctor Stein..." Akira groaned before falling unconscious. "Good job, kid..." Stein assured him as he got ready to fight off the Kishin who watched with disguised amusement.

Lucifer, looking very injured, limped for another strike with his tail but this time Odahving gave a simple back kick to push him to the ground again. The dog was now near his limit.

"Mr. Stein. How nice for me to see you. I have such...wonderful plans for you..."

"Cut it out Kishin. You'll never best the greatest meisters of DWMA...In fact I feel like dissecting you right now..." Stein grinned, his stance at the ready.

But Odahving did't seem interested in fighting. "Ah...about your...dissection habits...I have a so-called 'proposition' for you...You are one of the few people who want to be forgotten, am I right?"

"What?" Stein let down his guard at Odahving's statement. Even as a mere boy, his words are unnerving. Stein could not help but continue to listen in.

"I've known all about you I need to know. You were a first-class meister who has been known as the greatest meister from the academy. No doubt your name has already been planted in history. But I also know about your...actions. Your madness with killing and murder. Your desires to dissect people. How you went out of control the first time. And ever since that...incident of betrayal, you have been wanting to let yourself be forgotten. To cover up the irrefutable proof of the bad things that you had done. But the good doctor couldn't do it. He was just too famous already. You were already in history. When in it you can't pull yourself out of it. Thus your desire to be forgotten and...DISAPPEAR was to hound you for the rest of your life. Or was it?"

"What are you suggesting?" Stein suddenly relaxed his stance, his eyes wide, interested in his proposition.

"Aw it's nothing really..." Odahving shrugged as if he wasn't asking much. His eyes shifted to look upon the fallen group. "All you need to do is to kill those pathetic little sinners over there and call your allegiance to Chaos. And the Lord will grant you your wish and create an entire universe that lives by the rules of chaos and the ever constant flux of power. Just think about it! It will be everything you dream of. No history to hound you. No one will remember you for your bad qualities. A true perfect universe where one can just live his life to the fullest, knowing that no one will remember him anyway. Isn't that worth living for? Isn't that worth DYING for, Mr. Stein?" Odahving smiled as he looked at his target already seemingly hooked. The Kishin took deliberate slow steps towards the good doctor, who now seemed to be reveling in his words of enlightenment.

"Doctor Stein, no..." Maka tried to reach out to the entranced doctor but to no avail. "A great world indeed..." Stein muttered his breath. "Don't worry, Mr. Stein. I will give you a week to think about it." Odahving smirked as he turned his body away to walk in the opposite direction from Stein for a short distance. Then the Kishin stopped and turned his head sideways such that he was showing his left eye to the enraptured teacher. "Of course, I can't leave you with the negative influence of this Academy, can I?" Odahving held his hand over his left eye and then opened his fingers such that his eye could be seen in between them.

"PROFESSOR!" Soul and Maka yelled at the top of their lungs but it was too late. In mere moments, the professor was suddenly engulfed by a very dense and terrifying sphere of chaotic darkness. It then shrank to the size of a gobstopper, flying on to enter the black center of Odahving's black hole eye, the captive professor with it. Odahving gave a wolfish grin aas he proclaimed."With my left eye, I will turn anything into nothingness!"

"Damn you! Let him go!" Soul yelled in anger. Getting up, he tried to attack Odahving but the boy simply looked at him with his tainted red right eye. And Maka gasped as the eye's pupil shrunk into a feral-like state and Soul promptly froze in his tracks.

"What...what just happened?" Soul tried to control his body but he was absolutely unable to move. Odahving continued. "With my right eye, I will pierce even the most shrouded mists to look into the truth."

"You might not want to admit it, but your soul is shivering in its very knees when I looked upon it. Just like how one will be frightened when one is cross-examined by a lawyer, your soul feels the same thing. It is afraid of what I can dig out from it. What secrets I can find in it. What desires it has. What sins it possesses."

Soul suddenly stopped his struggle when he felt Odahving put his mouth near his ear. "I even can see what bad dirty thoughts you have about Maka...Such a naughty child..." Odahving whispered with great sarcasm, much to the shock and fright of Soul. Soul could feel Odahving's breath brushing against his cheek. It was cold, like a dead person's. And yet, it even had the same smell of...Maka's. "But don't worry, I won't tell..."

Odahving laughed with a roar as he gave Soul a generously light nudge, sending the stiff boy rolling down back to Maka, whose eyes were filled with utter awe and powerlessness. "You were lucky. I had offered you all as my condition for Stein's loyalty. Else I would make your souls squeal so much that they would explode. Now you wouldn't want that..."

Out of the blue, another voice came from above. "Oh really? Now make my Soul squeal then."

"Huh?" Odahving was suddenly engulfed in a very powerful wave of light. A huge beam of blinding light lifted to the skies, even parting the clouds. As the light dispersed, Odahving picked himself up, his face concerned with beads of sweat for the first time. He looked up to his floating adversary, who twirled about a very familiar-looking scythe.

"Good morning..." Death welcomed with his jolly voice, four blue skull boosters keeping him in the air. "I'm very sorry but I have to retrieve my staff member. Whether you like it or not..." Death threatened the last sentence in a new deep awe-inspiring voice.

"..You are a very interesting fellow, Mr. Death! I was nearly considering to have you join me too, but seeing how you struck first, I guess diplomacy is out of the question." Odahving grinned back at the frowning Death. "I guess that's your Death Scythe, right?" Odahving pointed out to the black scythe in his big white cubey hands.

"Don't you dare touch my daughter!" Spirit shouted back in wrath and hatred. "Maka, don't worry. Daddy's got this!"

"Umm...sure..." Maka muttered back. Usually she would reject her dad but now they would need all the help they could get.

"Why so much hate, Mr. Death Scythe? Want to kill me? Want to take out my intestines and strnagle me with them? Want to rip out my eye-balls and pour chlorine into my eyes? Want to slice me up into Sushi and serve them to your daughter for a father-daughter present? Tell me, Mr Spirit, do your hate me? Or do you hate yourself for being the womanizer who left his little girl alone when she needed him most?" Spirit felt his teeth grind hard against each other as he listened to the sick humor of Chaos Odahving.

"Shut your trap, Kishin, and let us beat you to halleluya!" Spirit yelled back in even more instigated anger. This guy is seriously asking for it.

"Calm down, Spirit!" Death ordered his weapon as he floated closer towards Odahving. "What is it you want, Kishin?"

"What I want?" Odahving tried to stifle a laugh. "What I WANT, Mr. Death, is the total ANNILIHATION of bigots like you and your pathetic excuse for a weapon and then when I am done, I will bring about a new purer age of true chaos. And I assume you are going to try to stop me?" Odahving's eyes gave a challenge as he begun to float into the air, just enough to be on the same level as Death. The two glared at each other, exchanging looks of mutual hatred and fury.

"Make your move, Grim Reaper..."

"I wouldn't mind if I do..."

"SHINGAMI CHOP!"

**So the epic battle is about to come up between Odahving and Death. Out comes the Shinigami Chop! Hope you like this update and next chapter will be back to Alduin in his mind! Toodaloo! Also next: Bio on Chaos Odahving.**


	49. Odahving Chapter 5

"So how's the meal coming along?" Alduin shrugged as he listened to the cheery voice of Gospel, while he used a stick to poke at the campfire he had made with some wood and Fire Breath. For some reason, camping out in the middle of the woods inside his mind is part of the training. Goddamn this damn protection mental state! Goddamn him having to cook his own dragon flesh for food! And goddamn Gospel wanting to take a bath in some river just beside their campsite!

As a result, he has to keep on making sure he doesn't look backwards, at the threat of getting a white little girl-shield giving him a good beating! "When can we get out of my mind?" Alduin yelled back but Gospel seemed to be more distracted by her bath, her beautiful lark voice singing a song with the splash of water in the background.

**Song: Sense by Mami Kawada.**

_**Uso nante tabun tsukesou ni nai sora utsukushikute  
>Koe wo dasu koto mo tsumi ni narisou de namida afuredashiteku<strong>_

_**The sky that tells no lies is beautiful  
>Speaking too may be a sin yet tears are pouring out<strong>_

"Hey..." Still singing.

_**Toki to toki no hazamade  
>Subete wo misukasarete tashikani miete kuru mono ga aru<br>Warui yokan wa shinai  
>Kitto mirai ga boku wo matteru kara, kinou made ni sayonara wo<br>Sukoshizutsu michitekuru kankaku ni mezameteku**_

_**During those moments  
>When everything is seen true some things will become clear<br>But I have no bad feelings  
>Because the future is waiting, so I bid yesterday farewell<br>As I awaken to the sensations that fill me slowly**_

"Hey." No change.

_**Kegareta kehai wo yuudachi no senrei kiyomete yuku  
>Soshite arawareta chirinaki sora ni wa ukabu ketsui no hikari<strong>_

_**A shower washes clean this trace of dirt  
>And now the light of determination lingers in the unstained sky<strong>_

"Hey! Are you even listening?" The voice, while melodious, was now annoying him.

_**Kako ni koukai wa nai  
>Kanashimi wa toki hanachi ima mirai e to susumu kigasuru<br>Kotae wa mune no naka ni  
>Mae wo muite arukidasu sono toki wa, jibun dake no shouri e to<br>Sukoshizutsu chikazuite hajimari wo kanjiteru**_

_**The past holds no regrets  
>So I set my sorrows free and head towards the future<br>In my heart is the answer  
>As I walk towards my own victory<br>I seem to get closer and closer to the place where it all began**_

"Hey! I SAID...!" Alduin swiftly turned to get the girl's attention but he was taken off guard by a very gentle, smooth finger pressed against his lips, its owner, Gospel, back in her garments.

She let out a smile, one of such innocence and love that Alduin was totally stunned and awashed by feelings of relaxation, his anger swept away by the radiance of the girl in front of him. Gospel's voice began to feel like that of a graceful ballet dancer bringing love and life to the dark cold lands of war and death. So small yet so conspicuous.

_**Toki to toki no hazamade  
>Subete wo misukasarete tashika ni miete kuru mono ga aru<br>Togisumasareta hitomi  
>Soko ni utsusareta mirai no jibun ni maketakunai<br>Ima wa mada sukoshizutsu chikazuite  
>Hajimari wo kanjiteiru<strong>_

_**During those moments  
>When everything is seen true some things will become clear<br>To these trained eyes  
>I don't want to lose to my future self reflected there<br>Even now it is getting closer and closer  
>The place where it all began<strong>_

Alduin realized he had been holding his breath the whole time. He finally exhaled when Gospel finished the song. "What was...that?" Alduin gasped as he tried to control the overwhelming feeling the song had given him.

Gospel smiled sweetly once again, the 13-year old girl's face looking so refreshing after her bath. "That was Lucy's favourite song..."

_Back at the site of the fight, Lucifer watched from the rubble, his blade-tail now feeling too heavy for him to lift. He had to deactivate it. As he felt another huge shockwave shoot through the air, the German Shepherd tried to will his legs back up. In his voew, the speeding blurs of black and red clash once again, the roar of two monstrous beings ringing the very fighting stage. Lucifer finally caught his fleeting breath as he looked out for Odahving. "I can't let you do whatever you want..."_

"So I guess you really took a liking to him?" Alduin asked as he passed a piece of well-cooked dragon's meat to Gospel. "Yeah, I guess you can say I admire him. Maybe even a crush" Gospel stated honestly before biting into the meat, the blush of her face easily matching its redness.

"_Take this!" Lucifer thought as he finally caught up with Odahving, biting into the boy's hand. Alas, it was just a mere bite. "ARRGHH!" As expected, he was thrown back into the rubble again, his canine body brutally battered and bloody. "I'm not done yet..." He refused to give up._

"Why do you like him sp much?" "Well I guess you can say there's this sort of indomitable spirit he seemed to give off. Even more, he's the greatest buddy one can get, even if he seems aloof."

"_I guess you still aren't done yet, little puppy?" Lucifer growled at the amusement of Odahving. "TIL..." Odahving whispered just as Death came close for a strike. Death's movement suddenly slowed down, the blade of his Death Scythe now crawling inches towards Odahving. The figure of Death swinging a scythe like in the legends was truly terrifying even when in slow-mo. Odahving didn't seem to care. "I'll deal with that old man later." He mused. His eyes then turned to regard the struggling Lucifer, as if accessing what was the best way to spill his blood. The dog moved as normal, unaffected by the time dilation. "Now what shall I do with you first?"_

"Lucy is that guy who you can always rely on to protect you. And when he has a cause, he will devote to it like it was the LAST thing he'll do." "That great, huh?"

"_RAAARGH!" Lucifer roared as he charged headlong at Odahving, who goaded him on. "That's right, little dog. Come to Daddy!" 'This is for everyone's sakes!' Lucifer decided as he suddenly dived between Odahving's open legs. "Huh?" Odahving cursed at his carelessness. Spinning his body about, Lucifer grabbed on Odahving's back with great fervor. "What are you up to?" Odahving gawked, taken aback by this sudden move._

Alduin then felt something poking at his mind inside. He just had to ask. "Do you think Lucifer will ever give his life to help us?" "Lucy-kun? Well I guess so. He's always so headstrong and loyal. If you want someone to be the Kamikaze guy, he'll be the first volunteer. And then he'll make sure he is the ONLY volunteer. That's how much he values other people..." Gospel abruptly hung her head, as if she was remembering something. "Ever since that...accident..." "Accident?" Alduin tilted his head questioningly.

"_HISSATSU!" Lucifer growled as he felt his blood began to boil. Really painfully. It's now or never. "Never thought it would end like this? Huh, Mary?" Lucifer thought, his eyes, black orbs glistening with sadness, closing to accept his fate._

"_What are you-" Odahving tried to breakfree but the dog's hold was tight. Deathly tight. Then Lucifer opened his dog mouth. And spoke for the first time._

"_NINE CIRCLES OF HELL!"_

**Like it? Hate it? Hope you do the former! This was a pretty tough decision for me to use Lucifer as a plot motivation point. And hence show a lot more character in him! Sad? Happy? I wonder how you feel so do try and review, okay? Also, I'm putting up a poll for Lucifer's final fate and also how his nine circles of hell will appear. I will not be updating for a while until around the end of the week so do please poll! The next chapter will be Chaos Odahving. Have a cookie!**


	50. Odahving Chapter 6

_Flackback_

"_I assume you are worried about this, Lucifer."_

"_Not as worried as you my lord, but yes. I am."_

_Lucifer sighed as he carefully strolled through the beautiful Garden of the Divines, the polar opposite of the busy and stressed Hall of Divines. It was a relaxation area for the gods, its own transparent glass brick paths allowing them a clear view of the radiant and holy land of Sovngarde, Nirn's heaven, below. Where the path did not touch, there was divine gold grass, kept to perfection as little daises and bluebells spotted the glistening blanket of gold. The trees weren't like ordinary trees, with their green leaves forming like a bush at their trunks while the branches spread about in the air like actual roots. And in the center of the garden that spanned indefinitely was an inhumanly massive tree, its huge trunk supporting up a great planet-like translucent body. The tree Yggdrasil._

_And what was on it was what they were talking about. The giant spherical body made out of flames only appeared whenever a new god is to be born. "This is to be my son..." Akatosh, in the form of an old wise man with white hair that covered the entirely of his head and reached his shoulders, looked on at the body. His wizened wrinkled hands held carefully his great Hourglass, Jikan Sunadokei. The oak stand around the never blurry glass contributed well to the old look Akatosh was giving, making Lucifer feel very young near the Supreme God of Time. _

_The male was donned in a white mandarin-style jacket, over a white hakama, and his bare feet felt warm against the cool surface of the glass brick path. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, revealing their black undersurface, and his collar was upturned, reaching the cheeks of his smooth youth-like face. His hair, like the night itself, was braided in a Chinese ponytail that reached down till his waist, also leaving enough freedom for the remainder to form a scruffy look. His eyes were heterochromatic, with his right eye a stunning ever-changing multitude of colours and his left a serious emotionless black. Lucifer was easily taller than Akatosh, his 2.0-metre tall form towering over the man's diminutive 1.5. "Are you sure he's your son?" His concern was undisguised. "Honest as usual, Lucifer." Akatosh smiled._

"_Look at the flames," Akatosh pointed towards the huge 'egg' and Lucifer knew he had asked a stupid question. He replied apologetically. "They are black." Indeed they are, the sphere dark rolling black fire surrounding what seemed like a condensed being of energy, alive yet asleep. A draconic-like being._

"_The second dragon god." Akatosh nodded in approval as he used his long sleeves to wipe off whatever invisible dust was on his hourglass. A habit that has arisen from holding on to the artifact for so long. The sand in the top half had been almost been depleted, as it dropped down the neck grain by grain. "And a new age soon enough."_

"_What will you call him, sir?"_

"_I do not know. He's still too young. And too inexperienced."_

"_My Lord?"_

"_He'll need a caretaker." Akatosh grinned as he turned to look at Lucifer. "Me...me?" Lucifer exclaimed in shock._

"_Hahahaha! Of course not just you, silly! I'm sure I will still be around to give the child a good father."_

"_Then why did you bring me here, sir? I've enough trouble with dealings with demons." Lucifer then felt he spoke too much and hurriedly apologized. "Forgive my rudeness, My Lord!" Of course the god of time was sure to be busier than him._

"_I forgive you, Lucifer. I brought you here to talk with you about what you think about him."_

"_Him, sir?"_

"_Don't worry, Lucifer. This isn't Oblivion. You can speak as you please." Akatosh gestured Lucifer to sit down with him on what seemed like a tree shaped of a chairs and table. Even though it was raw, the wood was smooth and of a very fine quality, making more than a comfortable sitting place._

"_Sir, I seriously don't think your time is done yet. You have achieved much in your reign as Time God. The mortals worship you. The Aedra sing praises of your deeds. The Daedra speak of you as if you are their bane. The dragons call you their idol and their ancestor. Nirn revels in your blessings and your-." "Cup of tea?" Akatosh suddenly offered._

"_No thanks, kind Lord." Lucifer continued, using his arms to put more power into his words. "But in short, I really believe this...this...Alduin...this destroyer...this devourer...this master...might just be a bit too much for us. And if his birth spells your end, he is a serious threat to us and everyone out there. Even my wife..." Lucifer abruptly halted. He misspoke once again. "I'm sorry. I have...insulted you..."_

"_No worries, Lucifer, God of Exorcism and Boundaries. I perfectly understand how you feel. I cannot deny that I am uneasy with how powerful his black flames are compared to my own and that parasitic connection between me and him has been draining my strength everyday. In a few millennia, I might not be able to even control Time anymore. But thank you, Lucifer."_

"_My Lord?"_

"_Alduin he shall be. Maybe it is fate that brought that name to your mouth. I'm never sure about these things." Akatosh nodded cheekily. "But one thing I am sure about, Lucifer. You will be his guardian."_

"_Guar...Guardian, sir? Then who will take my place?"_

"_Don't worry, I'm sure Yggdrasil will come up with something soon enough. But I must have you as Alduin's guardian. And also the universe's."_

"_The universe?"_

"_I know a great many facts. And I also can feel even more possibilities. But one of them stands out like a firefly in a black chimney, prominent and bright. You see, Lucifer. Most of the gods here merely see Alduin as a replacement for me, so that I can live my final eras in retirement. They see Alduin doing what I do all the time, being like me, working like me, talking like me. Essentially they see Alduin as ME. But you perceive him differently. As a different person. And while our views might not agree, we both share this exact same quality. You and me and Gospel."_

"_Gospel?"_

"_I'll introduce her soon enough. But I feel that Alduin will become me and beyond. He will turn into a pioneer of new greater ages, the forebringer of many amazing things and his reign will surpass my own." Akatosh smiled to himself as he seemed to soak himself in his joyful expectations._

"_However, to make such a god, I need good guardians. Guardians who can see that he is not just me. Guardians who can separate their perception of me and him. Else, he would just develop into another Akatosh and we wouldn't want that. So please, Lucifer. Take this role as his guardian."_

"_I...I..." Lucifer felt dumbfounded. He had only been a pretty young member of the God force and was also one of the weakest in terms of power. The only reason he got to speak with Akatosh at such friendly terms was because the God of Time found his young courageous attitude to be many times more interesting than the oldies of the group. "But...but..."_

_But Lucifer couldn't refuse when he looked into Akatosh's pleading eyes. It was one of the god's greatest qualities. His voice and his eyes made a very deadly combo that no one could refuse. One was persuasive to insane degrees while the other was emotional enough to make others empathize exactly. It was this trait of his that had allowed him to easily persuade the Daedra to draw the line and call a state of balance, preventing all-out divine war. And now, it was working its magic._

"_I...I would be honoured to be his guardian, My Lord." Lucifer couldn't help but smile as he accepted. "So what do you want me to do?"_

"_First, we must talk about your wife."_

"_My...wife? Mary? What about her?"_

"_She's a mortal, right? And I've heard about her pregnancy. I must say I'm impressed, Lucifer." Lucifer blushed in embarrassment at Akatosh's congratulations. But he could sense the serious atmosphere and he instinctively tensed up. "Don't tell me..."_

"_You must leave her, Lucifer. Make sure you hide her well."_

"_Why?"_

"_Your presence with her has granted her and the baby a massive amount of Divine energy. And while I am sure that the Daedric Princes will know their lines, one of their subordinates might not be so responsible."_

"_You mean, a Daedra rookie is hunting them right now? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Lucifer jumped back up to his feet as he raised his hand. Within moments, his signature curved claymore came into his hand, materilized from a collection of light beams. "If I did, you wouldn't even listen to what I have to say. Just like now." Akatosh glared at Lucifer. Now the old man didn't look so old now. Crossing certain speaking rules were okay with him but doing things rashly and without thought was most certainly something he could not tolerate,_

"_I am sorry, Lucifer. You have to do what must be done."_

"_What do you mean?" Lucifer gawked at his words. Akatosh's grim face didn't help to ease his worry._

"_If you truly want to give Mary a good rest, you will do more than leave and hide her."_

_Lucifer's eyes widened in realization, his right eye now a shade of aqua blue. "No way..." Akatosh watched in pity as Lucifer dropped to his knees, the man stunned to silence. His pupils were shaky, as if they were little molecules vibrating on the spot. As he let the claymore drop to his shivering side, Lucifer felt his teeth chatter in fear and frustration. _

"_Go, Lucifer. Go and see her for the last time."_

**Hope you like this first of many flashbacks. This gives a little insight into Lucifer's past before he went into Alduin. I'm sure you might be able to guess what he did. It was also what he did that gave him the understanding of necessary evil. Hope you like and please review!**


	51. Extras: Chaos Odahving

BIO TIME!

**Chaos Odahving**

**Name:** Odahving

**Alias:** The Second-in-command, The Fallen Who Rose, Kishin

**Species:** Human/ Dragon/ Kishin/ Fragment of Chaos

**Biography:**

Odahving was the ex-second in command and partner of Alduin, who he reconciled with when the two met once again in the world of Earth. He was accepted by the Soul Eater gang to be another person from the future to assist Alduin in his journey to prevent the rising of Chaos and Order. Odahving has assisted Alduin much in the area of research and looking out for the crests and Alduin knows that Odahving was a formidable ally for him and also a much-needed companion in this alien world.

However, Odahving didn't have that personal view. His opinion of himself was much more different. Due to his own mental struggles, experiences, and the manipulation of a Fragment of Chaos, Odahving has allowed himself to eat a massive amount of madness, specifically the madness of those who have been forgotten in the sands of time, and hence transformed into a Kishin, which Chaos considered to be the most powerful type of being on the planet of Earth. Also, due to the way he had been made into a Kishin, Odahving was allowed to become almost like an extension of Chaos, thus forming into a Fragment of Chaos. As a result of this drastic transformation, Odahving's self-pity-based madness that he used to pay little attention to transfigures into one of anger and destruction. He also gains an incredible amount of power and the full size and power of his soul has yet to be seen. It has even been theorized if one tries to look at his soul, one might go just as crazy or even worse, brain-dead.

Despite this massive increase in strength, Odahving has retained his very significant understanding of humans and his ability to adapt, making him into a deadly opponent for Alduin and the group. Also his weapon, Arondight, has yet to appear, but has been hinted by someone to be very powerful. As of now, he has fought three meisters at once, Maka, Black Star and Stein, as well as an autonomous weapon, Akira, all without even a scratch and he has even looked down on Death Scythe-armed Death, indicating how powerful he was. His goal as a representative of Chaos was to allow Chaos to change the universe into one where everyone only lives as long as they physically live and no one is allowed to be remembered in history. This universe is also, as expected from Chaos, chaotic, where there is a constant flux of power. Hence, in order to heed to the rules of this universe, Odahving is unfortunately also committing suicide in order to begin the flux.

All in all, Odahving is not only a truly frightening opponent, he is also a very determined dragon/man. Which makes him all the more deadly.

**Personality:**

Unlike the Odahving of old, Chaos Odahving no longer finds the current humans to be worth his while. He is now cold, heartless and also exceptionally insensitive about how others feel. When he speaks, he has nothing but venom for those who oppose him and tempting honey for those he views as potential allies. Odahving's indifference does not mean he cannot feel. He has shown to still think that Alduin is someone he can trust and has even said himself he will get Alduin to join him and Chaos. Odahving is also very easily angered by insults, especially those that base on the fact that he was a second-in-command. Odahving feels that people are naturally arrogant and that they deserve a very big near-death lesson on the "true" meaning of humility. If he determines that they are beyond salvation, he will destroy them utterly without remorse, regret.

Chaos Odahving is also extremely confident in his abilities and pretends to not even see those who were determined to be pathetic and simply "bigots". He has shown this when Akira and Black Star attacked him, saying that he could easily forget them. Only powerful people like Death are worth his time. Chaos Odahving also searches fervently for people who are similar to him in humility, such as Doctor Stein, who hopes to be forgotten by everyone due to his madness and obsession with dissection and murder.

Chaos Odahving also has an all-knowing air to him, due to the powers in his tainted red right eye. He can easily pick out what little sins that a person has and use them against him or her. This makes his presence not only frightening to a person' soul but also a god-like feel to it. While some might compare it to be similar to Asura's, it is not entirely correct to say that. While Asura might assume that he knows what everyone is thinking, thus stunning him when he realized the courage in Maka, Odahving actually can know what everyone is thinking, making his presence all the more solid and terrifying.

In a classic One Piece style, Chaos Odahving has a signature laugh based on his name: "Odahahahahahaha...".

**Appearance:**

Odahving looks like the normal Odahving as of now. He is a 1.8 m tall teenage male with red hair that is styled in a casual way, such that one of his eyes is covered most of the time. His attire has yet to be changed but it is likely that he will change his clothes once he leaves Death City, or Death City leaves him. His most prominent feature is his two eyes, which are now heterochromatic. His left eye is one that has its pupil look like a black hole, with swirls of dark purple all converging into a black center. His right has its pupil a tainted dark red, with the veins on his eye also prominently red and its pupil more feral and smaller than his left one.

**Powers and Abilities:**

**Insane Physical Abilites** **–** Due to being a Kishin, Odahving not only has incredible strength, speed and dexterity, but his entire body structure has seem to undergo a very unusual change. This is shown when he is hit by Akira in the head. His body seems to have become unnaturally flexible, allowing him to bend his back a full 180 degrees so as to receive the force of his body. So far, his most powerful physical attribute is strength. He is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Death even when the Reaper is armed with his Death Scythe. Even worse, no one knows how much more he will be when he holds Arondight in his hands.

**The Voice –** Due to his dragon lineage, Odahving has the power of the Thu'um. However his expertise and ability with it has reached a completely new level, bringing him just under the power of Alduin and Paarthurnax, both who are gods and hence masterful Voice uses. He also placed a bigger emphasis on support shouts then attack shouts, using their magnifying abilities to increase his prowess in battle. Hence with his attributes and his Voice, Odahving becomes a truly frightening opponent, capable of moving at blinding speeds with Time Slow or attacking with the rate of a gatling gun with Elemental Fury.

**Spatial Displacement – **Proclaimed as the eye that turned anything into nothingness, Odahving's left black-hole eye allows him to displace space in the form of a chaotic darkness, allowing him to either shrink opponents to the size of gum-balls, or transport himself from place to place. However he can only displace objects and change their dimensions. He does not have the ability to make them intangible. Furthermore, he has shown to take time in using this ability due to the complexities of space manipulation.

**V****eri****I****nterioris****– **In other words, Inner Truth. This is the power inside Odahving's right red eye. It allows him to not just perceive one's soul and their personality, but also their thoughts, sins, actions and memories inside it. This not only allows him an incredible amount of background knowledge to use against his opponents, but also allow him to perceive what will be their next move. It can also make the very soul fear him and hence freeze the person from moving due to disturbance in the link between his body and his soul. The limitations of this ability seem to depend on focus, for Odahving only frozen Soul Eater when he directly stared at him with his right eye, making its effectiveness on groups not as powerful.

**Blade Mastery – **When Odahving fights with Arondight, he prefers to use it in tandem with the Ebony Blade, meaning that he has at least a learge proficiency in the use of two blades at once, or simply the Japanese Kenjutsu sword art _Nitojutsu. _While it might not seem as impressive as master Infinite-Sword samurai Mifune, along with the two blade's powerful properties, Odahving is a force to be reckoned with when he has the two blades in his hands.

**Chaos Powers – **As Odahving is a fragment of Chaos, he is assumed to possess powers that are similar to Chaos'. This also includes his ability to manipulate space as a chaotic darkness.


	52. Odahving Chapter 7

"What just happened?" Death could not help but rub his aching head as he picked up Spirit. Just a few minutes ago, he could swear he saw that little weapon German Shepherd and Odahving move at blinding speeds, as if he himself had slowed down. Strange. Then that dog said something.

"Spirit-kun, you still awake?" Death hurriedly shook the Death Scythe in his hands, after finding himself unable to form a soul link with Maka's dad. He sighed in relief when he felt the connection return once again. "Damn...what...was that?" Spirit's voice was full of confusion and pain.

Death couldn't blame it. He felt his white brows frown, while he placed his hand against some support. His blue skull boosters were all thrashed and his black cloak was somewhat tattered at the ends. He was lucky to have survived, despite being so close to the event.

When that 'Nine Circles of Hell' activated, all Death could remember seeing was a bright flash of red-black light, encompassing the dog and the surprised Kishin, with circles of glpyhs and runes surrounding the site. Then while his vision had been blinded, he recalled the sound of chains and metal shifting against each other. And the earthquake. When the technique initiated, a huge tremor had rung through the ground and the air. As if the very ground and sky was being split at that very moment.

"Hey, Death-sama!" "Huh?" Death replied to Spirit when his recollection was interrupted. "Your hand is leaning against..." Death blinked blankly at Spirit's concerned tone. Then, unable to ignore it, Death took a look at the support he had placed his hand against.

Well it wasn't exactly a support beam. It was more like an entire tower.

Death gawked in awe at the tower that reached to the sky, surpassing than even the Academy in its spot on the highest point of Death City. Death could feel that he might even touch the laughing sun at the top. And the tower was no ordinary tower either. It was like Death's body structure, resembling a giant top, with nine clear circular levels, each bigger than the one below it. At its wide top, Death estimated that it could be at least 500 metres thick, casting a gigantic shadow over him. And the tower wasn't made out of concrete, stone, or any normal building materials. Instead millions and billions of claymores, all the same shape as Lucifer's own, made up the entire tower. They were all positioned such that their runed blades all pointed towards the center of the building, and their glowing hilts were outwards. Curious to how stable the incredible formation of swords was, Death cautiously let his gloved hand grab onto one of the hilts.

In an instant, he felt a surge of dark electricity erupt and swiftly brought his cubey hand back, as the offending hilt crackled with its defensive current. Eyes squinted, Death spied 50 or so huge chains, each one with glyph circles around their entire length, attached to the giant tower. "Spirit, give me a boost."

"HAI, DEATH-SAMA!" Death sighed as he activated his Grigori Soul. Almost immediately, Death was rising into the air with the help of his own skeleton wings, the elbow joint covered by his signature energy skull. Unlike normal wings, they were upside-down, with the joint below the wing flaps. Death narrowed his eyes even more as he looked into the distance, beyond the walls of Death City. "Just as I thought."

Each chain was entrenched deep into the ground, or what was left of it rather. The entirety of Death City was now on the top of its very own moat, the earth around it having entirely collapsed into some sort of huge canyon. The area had to be at least a kilometer wide. There was no way in or out, not by ground at least. The technique not only trapped Odahving inside the tower, but it has also essentially cut off Death City from the rest of the world. "This isn't good..." Death murmured as he floated back down onto the devastated combat area. He turned to look at Maka and Soul lying down at one side, clearly knocked out of their wits.

"Maka!" Spirit was close to jumping out of his weapon form to get to his daughter but Death's iron grip on him tightened even more. "Hush, Spirit..." Death frowned as he stared into the tower's base, the so-called lowest circle. And deep within it, he could see the soul of the Kishin, suppressed into the size of a watermelon. And once in a while, like a heart, the bright-red soul, in all its foulness and monstrosity, tried to expand, only to go back into its compressed size again. Odahving is still very much alive.

"That seal can't last long, no matter how big it is..."Death sighed as he readied himself. "But at least we have the precious time to finish him off..." Spirit, hearing this, nodded in agreement, dispelling his thoughts of worry for Maka. It would have to wait.

"SOUL RESONANCE!"

Unlike other meisters and weapons, Death and Spirit established their resonance link incredibly fast. Just like that, as Death blinked, Spirit's blade expanded to grow bigger and bigger, the black metal exterior now covered by a ghostly myriad of colourful energy. At its full power, the blade was now easily bigger than Death, with three back-spikes along with the classic front blade. There was no flashy lights, no change in air pressure, no sudden winds, and no incredible distractions whatsoever. It was simply pure beautiful control. And unlike last time, Death has a clean shot at the target.

"Kishin Hunt!" Death roared as his body sprung forward, the large blade cutting through the dense air like cheese. This is it. The final blow. Death could feel a small smile on his very human-looking face, hidden under his childish mask. Just one strike and this will be over. He began to estimate the distance between him and the destruction of the Kishin.

20 metres. The Kishin soul seemed to have sensed nothing yet.

15 metres. The Kishin soul still showed no response besides its normal attempts to expand.

5 metres. Now, Death could not help but feel like something was not right.

A centimetre. BANG!

Death gawked whne his advance was stopped in his tracks and Spirit's blade had clashed into a very simple-looking, yet familiar, black cane, about the height of an average school table. It was extremely smooth, not a scratch even appearing on it when Death brought Spirit back.

Death instantly recognized its little nonchalant owner, whose height was made even more dimunitive compared to the colossal tower. However, the little creature was wearing very different attire. Instead of his usual glaring white Victorian-style ruffed shirt, he had donned on a very serious-looking black tux shirt, with its very own cobalt blue tie. And his normal top hat that equals him in height had now been replaced by a black military boonie hat. The creature's typically emotionless round eyes now had a very deep frown, its piercing gaze crossing blades with Death's own deathly stare.

"Death-sama, is that...Excalibur?" Spirit wanted to show the infamous Excalibur-face but something about the simplistic creature made him think otherwise.

"No..." Death growled as the creature stood there in silent discipline, its cane held firmly between its fingerless hands.

"That's Excalibur's true form. The reason why he made that bubbly annoying persona of his...was to hide this..." Spirit gasped at Death's hands actually shivering. Was this...fear?

But Spirit had little time to dwell deeper before this 'Excalibur' interrupted. A serious air billowed out of him, a new very deep dominating voice now in place of his expected light-hearted sharp one.

"I am Arondight. Lancelot's unholy sword."

"And the true Old Great One of Anger."

**Halleluya! Story is continuing on! I had been expecting this point for such a long time**.** And I'm sure you guys could have gotten my hints, unless you won't reading my notes, which make me sad! :(**

**Do give your reviews on it! Thanks!**

**To Spartan: Well I'm going to make things more than worse for them. I'll show them what is true fear! POLITICS!**

**Suddenly Alduin: Politics? That's true fear? Pfft, Excalibur is a thousand times worse!**

**Maka: MAKA CHOP!**

**Alduin: And that!**

**Odahving: Taking an arrow to a knee is truly terrifying. Expect guard duty for the rest of your life.**

**Death the Kid: Oh really? *stares at Black Star then notches an arrow***

**A.D.: Don't even think about it!**

**Returns to Spartan: So anyway, back to topic...*admist loud noise of arguing*...thanks for the review and expect NIGHTMARISH conditions for everyone in Death City!**


	53. Odahving Chapter 8

Spirit could feel the tense atmosphere as Death and the revealed Arondight exchanged glares, the black hollow eyes of his master versus the permanently frowning round ones of the "holy" sword. It felt like he had just let two atomic bombs come near each other. Now it is a matter of time one of them would explode. Along with the other.

"Death-sama, isn't he still your ally?" Spirit asked Death nervously through their telepathic link. "I mean, he isn't a Great Old One?"

The one who answered wasn't the one he expected. "Of course I am a Great Old One, FOOL!" Spirit gawked at Arondight's sudden reply. "What the hell? You can hear us speaking telepathically?"

"FOOL!" Arondight's favourite word now had so much strength and seriousness behind it that Spirit could not help but feel that he was indeed a fool. However, Arondight continued, stamping his cane into the cracked ground. "Though...now that I think of it, it would take nothing less than a genius to figure the connection between Death and the Great Old Ones. So I can't blame you."

"You are particularly apologetic today, Arondight." Death mused as he steadied Spirit, much to the scythe's surprise. "Wait a minute! I don't understand! Is he with us or not?"

Arondight shook his head in disappointment. "Such a sad little fool. Maybe I'll give you a deserving burial for your idiocy."

"That's your answer, Spirit! Now keep quiet! I need to focus," Death shouted, bringing Spirit to a guarding stance, the sharp blade held horizontally in front of him. This shocked Spirit greatly, feeling the tenseness behind Death's muscles. Death is actually guarding?

"Now...now...Death. I wasn't coming for you." Arondight huffed, raising his round hat up in a sign of apology. Spinning his body about, Arondight turned his back towards Death while his little long white feet strided proudly towards the giant tower of blades. Pausing to twirl his cane in his fingerless hands, Arondight gave a soft sinister giggle. "Well, at least not yet."

**Back at Alduin,**

"What the!" Alduin gasped in disbelief when he felt another feeling of emptiness running through him. It wasn't as prominent as his father's death but was impossible to ignore. In the midst of his surprise, Alduin tripped over a rock, falling headfirst into the river. As his meal fell into the silent Gospel's lap, Alduin shot back out of the water, coughing and choking. His nose felt like an entire ocean had passed through it. He might have fire or ice fly through them, but he never had water run through his nostrils. His skin instantly formed goosebumps the moment he fell into the icy water. His hair now soaking wet, Alduin tried to shake himself dry like a dog. Like a dog.

Now he gets it. "Gospel!" Alduin promptly turned, just in time to see two small tear drops fall onto the plate of meal. Even in her tears, Alduin could see the reflection of her flawless beauty and grace. The river made an even bigger mirror. "Hey..." Alduin slowly spoke to her, expecting the shield to fully well burst into tears. And he wanted to be there for her.

But she didn't.

Alduin gazed in silent wonder as Gospel raised her head to reveal her eyes. There were tears, little droplets forming on their edges, yet she refused to let them roll. A very sad smile was on her face and Alduin simultaneously felt guilty and shocked at her strong stand. "Why...why are you...?" He stammered but Gospel put her finger to his shaking lips.

"Because Lucy is in a much happier place now. And I won't bring him back to earth with my tears."

**Now in the other side of Death City,**

"Mama?" A boy, the height of the table he was lying under, blinked blankly at the prone body of whom he knew as her mother. As he slowly crawled out of his hiding place, his attention was brought to a giant tower in the sky, its top considerably larger than its waist. Fascinated by this new discovery, the boy quietly removed his book out of his mother's clasping arms. Their touch was cold. And his book was warm. "Mama..." The boy smiled as he gave the book a good old hug.

Grabbing a pen that rolled his way, the boy, with his sandy brown neat hair, placed its tip against his mouth, giving a small nibble. It was a very persistent habit of his. He gave a glance at his father, lying among the demolished rubble. His body was twisted gruesomely, his innards pierced by a long stick, which the boy soon recognized as the scruffy man's hunting rifle. It was a bolt-action, with a carbon fiber stock, its recoil pad old and worn-out. Its scope was damaged, a hairline crack in its glass lenses. The rifle could fire at least a kilometre or two, with an accuracy of better than 0.3 mrad at 100 yards. He never knew how he knew those things. He just did.

Scratching the bandages that covered the brusies on his arms, legs and then proceeding to the plaster on his right cheek, the boy then continued to write. As his pen scribbled down the description of the tower, he barely flinched when azure little orbs flew past his shoulder, the bodies of his parents dispersing into thin air. Just like last time and the time before that. He smiled gently as he begun to sketch a very realistic drawing of the tower, without even needing to think beforehand. It was another one of his gifts. Whenever he draw, it would be perfect.

As the final remains of the parents ceased to exist, the boy, his eyes gazed lovingly at his little book. Its pages were slightly bent from constant flipping but its cover was still emblazoned in its gold title. "Mama..." He whispered under his breath. His voice was only for his book. No one else.

Whether he should feel for the deceased is inconsequential. As long as he could observe and write, he was content.

"Oh my darling Nobie..."

"Today...someone real will come into your life...And he won't be human..."

**Hope you like this newest update and finally Nobie has come to town!**

**Schook time has tightened my writing time but I can still update so don't worry!**


	54. Snippets of Randomess Ep 1 Normal Day

**It was just one of those normal days. I was having a spark of inspiration, writing away for the next update of my fanfiction: Alduin Fallen. The flow of words coming out of me just stunned me, yet I could not stop to even look stunned for a while. Truly, writing is such an unusual hobby. It's hard to start but easy to keep on going for hours and hours and hours and hours...**

**And hours...**

**And hours...**

**And hours...**

"**Hey! You done talking already?" I felt a familiar voice behind my hunched back and the patting of a hand against my shoulder. I turned to glare at the boy, whose eyes were the colour of crimson blood. I could say it was cool to have red eyes but unless he had scales and was in a famous Yugi-oh Card, I wouldn't tell him that directly.**

"**Do I look cool with this coffee cup in my hand?" I stared blankly at Soul Eater Evans, then turned to gaze at the cup in his hand. It had a picture of an adorable little dog, saying "Feed me!". Coolness addition: 0. Then I turned to gaze at Evans' shirt. It had a picture of another little puppy, its shining black orbs of eyes staring at me longingly. Which kind of creeped me out. Was it wanting to be fed or was it going to eat me? Coolness addition: 0. And his slippers barely helped, each one a furry dog's head. They even came with those floppy ears, as if they were meant to tickle the wearer to death. Coolness addition: 0.**

**Looking at his pants, I immediately balked, nearly going to vomit at what he was wearing. "I need a bag..." I gasped for air, turning my eyes away from the black jeans. The black jeans wasn't the problem. It was just that little sticker of a very familiar-looking white creature with a tophat and a spinning cane. It was small, just the size of a thumbtack but it was enough. Especially against that contrasting black jeans. "Soul, do you know what you wearing?" **

**Coolness addition: Over -9000.**

"**Huh? What?"**

"**Never mind? So what are you doing in my room? Didn't you read the sign outside? 'Cool guys only'."**

"**Ummmm...yeah...so I guess I can come in..."**

**There he goes again. I gritted my teeth in frustration, almost ready to bring out my bokken and smack the dumb guy in the center of his white-haired head. "Oh yeah! Alduin wanted you to go buy groceries. He's just trying to teach Maka how to cook. Well at least he's trying." That being said, I was starting to smell something. **

**Actually I smelled two somethings. One of them was just so ambroisal and divine I could feel my mouth begin to water. **

**It was scrambled egg. Simple but beautiful scrambled egg.**

**The other?**

**Well, let's be honest here. Honesty is a virtue. Thank God for that phrase!**

**Come in closer and listen to what I have to say. I don't want to have a book in my head.**

**Just a bit closer.**

**Yeah. That's right.**

**Now listen very carefully.**

**(Hushes my voice)**

**That smell was fucking disgusting.**

"**YOU DON'T BOIL THE EGG BEFORE YOU CRACK IT! I THOUGH YOU WANTED A SCRAMBLED EGG! YOU ARE MAKING A BOILED ONE INSTEAD!"**

"**Sorry...sorry...sorry..."**

"**AND WHY THE HELL IS THE SALT IN THE EGG SHELL? YOU PUT IT ON THE EGG WHITE AND YOLK, NOT THE STINKING SHELL? AND WHAT IS THIS? PEANUT BUTTER EGG?"**

"**I'll get that fixed, sorry..."**

**"YOU BETTER! GODDD!"**

**Then the next shout was much more angrier, much louder. So loud that I was nearly deafened.**

"**AND WHAT THE HELL IS EXCALIBUR DOING ON MY FRYING PAN?"**

"**FOOL! BEST SERVED STEAMED, NOT FRIED!"**

**I sighed in total utter exhaustion. Yep, that was a pretty normal day for me. Just a normal sunny day. With the entirety of Death City inside my house. A normal day.**

**Now for the grocery list. Turning to Soul, I made an educated guess.**

"**Let me guess, you want eggs..."**

_**SNIPPETS OF RANDOMESS EP 1 END! Whoa this was a pretty good warm-up for me. Hope you like it! **_

_**And right now my German Shepherd is barking from outside. Shut up, Lucifer! **_


	55. Odahving Chapter 9

"You called me my lord?" Paarthurnax cautiously walked into the Council of The Divines, his lumbering draconic body now stained with glowing lines of white. As he rose to his feet, he continued to marvel at his new bipedalism, a grateful gift of Order for his present of Nirn. However, his eyes, now as white as little ocean pearls, were quickly taken away by the magnificence of the great white being in front of him.

Just like in the wall carving, Order was beautiful. The giant being now stood over the giant sphere that was used for communication, its angelic wings many times the size of Paarthurnax wrapping around its new throne. Wisps of white smoke encircled the bright entity and a bright glow surrounded the creature, leaving little for Paarthurnax to make out. He could however see the unyielding power from it, in the form of an intense pressure. Its six eyes, each a miniature blue sun, regarded Paarthurnax with acknowledgement. Which made the hopeful dragon swell in pride.

"Ahh...you are finally here...while you were taking a walk, I had to reorder another bag of planets for a snack..." Order sighed, as if he was more annoyed by Paarthurnax than impressed by how funny his way of talking. Paarthurnax gazed on at the majestic being, trying hard not to giggle. The super entity and he had just met a few hours ago, when the being finally managed to take a physical form. And already, Paarthurnax found that the effects of being near the being were nothing short of fascinating.

The spike in power in him was unforgettable. His wings never felt so energetic and his mind felt clear for the first time. And behind him, the Hall of Divines was in its most beautiful, the grand golden walls gleaming in Order's aurora, the pillars now cleaned of their stains and their white surface was smooth to an absolute degree. Whatever little cobwebs that once dwelled in the deep forgotten corners of the Hall were now disintegrated. Right now to Paarthurnax, siding with Order seemed certainly the greatest thing he had done.

His marveling of his surroundings were quickly quelled by the voice of Order. It was deep, disembodied and had a visible strength and power behind it. Like the voice of an eternal ruler.

"I had called you for some...disconcerting problems with my counterpart..."

"Sir?"

"It seems that Chaos has gotten himself a representative...Do you know a dragon named Odahving?" Paarthurnax's eyes widened in shock, an action immediately picked up by Order's six eyes. "I see...you do..." Order seemed to snicker at Paarthurnax's quick reaction.

"Indeed, my Lord. I've sent him to Alduin as per your request...Could we have miscalculated something.." Paarthurnax suddenly felt a wave of air pressure wash over him and he soon found himself sprawled on the ground, his body now seeming to have grown heavier by a thousand times. "YOU DARE DOUBT MY PLAN?" Paarthurnax's white eyes flicked about frantically as he tried to see the now angered super entity. The seraphic wings were now a swirling white horrors, emanating so much power that Paarthurnax felt he could melt right away. "I HAVE THE RIGHT MIND TO SEND YOU INTO A STAR!" Order's voice, while being powerful and immense, was also strict and menacing, its words drilling directly into Paarthurnax's brain. Then they sparked fear within him, as he flailed about trying to break free out of Order's invisible steel grip.

Just as Paarthurnax was about cease struggling, he was surprised once again by a quick sense of relief rising in him, the pressure suddenly disappearing in an instant. As Paarthurnax gazed in confusion at Order, the super-being, with a smile hidden in his cloak of light, explained his mercy.

"But since I resent killing my subordinates, I will spare you this time...Indeed I did ask you to send Odahving to Alduin...I had full well expected him to join Chaos...It would be conducive to have a few competitors..." Order laughed at the last word, as if he barely regarded Chaos as a opponent. "But now it seems that my brother has also given the little dragon a bit more power than I anticipated...That and Odahving has proven to have...more potential than I had expected from a second-in-command...He might prove problematic..."

"Shall I personally go down there to finish him off, my Lord?"

At this, Order blinked. BANG! And Paarthurnax was down on the ground again, gasped for his life.

"Since when did I give you the right to give your own plans? If there was more than one planner, the whole system will be choked full of conflicts and individuality. I am Order, the Benevolent Dictator, and you of all people should understand what I desire in a universe. Pure order. Where all is the same and nothing differs. Where all know their place and don't get any funny ideas."

Order blinked again. Catching his shallow breaths, Paarthurnax rose up again, completely silent, his head hanging in obedience. "Good."

"No, you do not need to go there yourself. Your conversion has yet to be completed. For now, our solution is just about to walk in."

"What?" Paarthurnax quickly turned his body about, just in time to see the portal to Earth begun to glow. Someone was entering the Hall of Divines.

But who?

**Really who? Can you guess who will be the 'solution'? Next up: Odahving and Arondight Unite! Out comes the Bankai-Wait a second!**

**Order: This isn't Bleach, dumbass...**

**Alduin: Really our author must be an idiot...**

**A.D.: I can hear you, you know? Now all I need to do is just press this backspace button over here...**


	56. Odahving Chapter 10

"So shall we begin?" Death growled under his breath, his single black stump of a leg compressing like a spring. Spirit could feel the perspiration dribbling down his forehead, as he felt his wielder's soul flunctuate with each of his controlled breaths. "Not yet...Patience is a virtue..." Excalibur, or rather Arondight, seemed to smile on his unusual crescent face that lacked a mouth, while he walked towards the giant tower of claymores, his staff now resting under his armpit. The huge magical structure appeared to roar at the nearing of a hostile presence, its shadow completely over the diminutive creature. "Now I just need a bit of time..."

Shink! "Hmmm?" Arondight hummed as he gazed at the black scythe blade over his shoulder, his eyes trailing up the staff to reach to the face of an angry Death. Having realised what Arondight meant to do, Death took the liberty of pressing the sickle against Arondight's hat, his neck being too low for an appropriate stance. "Oohhh...target my hat, will you? What a cheap move..." Arondight giggled as he stroked his red business tie cheekily, continuing on. "Well you got me there..." The little white-skinned being smiled as he raised his cone-like hands in what seemed like an act of surrender. Turning around to face the angered Reaper, Arondight's frowning round eyes didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that his life was in danger, the spirit within defiant as ever.

Seeing his long-time companion being so antagonistic, Death could not help but ask. "Why, Arondight? Why are you helping Chaos?"

* * *

><p>From the sidelines, Maka Albarn, her auburn hair now loose from their ponytails and reaching down her back, felt her head spin as she slowly lifted it. Soul, his head flung back, was sprawled beside her, clearly knocked out, but alive. Akira was some distance away, his limp body looking worryingly broken. As for Lucifer, there was no sign of him. As her vision blurred in and out, her eyelids struggling to keep them open, Maka gawked at the scene of what looked like an unusually dressed Excalibur, held at blade-point by a very wrathful Death. Even worse, a giant top-like tower of blades was with them as well. What in the world just happened?<p>

Scoof! Maka heard the sound of feet skidding against the upturned ground and she barely tilted her head to spot a silver-haired adult male, with piercing eyes with blue slitted pupils, jump down from the hill of decimated rubble. His cloak-like clothes had a hood around his head and his right hand was an intricate gauntlet. Maka's eyes widened in awe as the man's elbow changed into a long broad black blade, which he promptly smashed into the hill, hence slowing his descent. "Xeal..." Maka swallowed nervously as the two-star student landed beside her. And she had good reason to be nervous.

"Don't say a word..." He replied coldly, quickly taking a glance at the two Great Old Ones. "They haven't noticed us yet. C'mon let's get you out of here..." Xeal hefted Soul over his shoulder, before carrying Maka under his armored arm. "I can walk..." She murmured weakly, her eye-lids finally closing as she fell back to sleep. "No you can't..." Xeal muttered under his breath as he ran up to the fallen Akira. The boy looked wrecked and seemed to have broken some bones but Xeal know that Cyril can fix him up. At least he hoped that girl could.

As he looked at Death's way, he pondered whether he should help out. "Maybe later..." He gritted his teeth at the weight of three unconscious people. It's going to be tough to escape. Then he breathed a sigh of relief when a familiar silhouette appeared out of nowhere.

"Need some help?"

"Next time...don't be so late..."

* * *

><p>Oblivious to the rescuers, Arondight and Death continued to talk. Arondight was first to speak. "Why?"<p>

"Why, you say? I guess you can say that it has something to do with my past. I'm sure you know that my real partner was Lancelot, not King Arthur the FOOL."

"So you are doing this because of a grudge?"

Arondight shook his little head. "Tsk...tsk...tsk, Death, always so hasty...What makes you think that a century-old grudge would give me the will to fight for Chaos? I am a much better gentleman than that, you know."

"So how does Lancelot come in?"

"Would you like to hear my story? My TRUE story?" Arondight seemed to be offering, much to Death's stupefaction. "Silence? Well, then I shall take that as a yes."

"I already know your story, Arondight. How Lancelot was the greatest knight of King Arthur, his right hand, until he had an affair with Guinevere, Arthur's wife. When Arthur found out, he had Guinevere up for execution, so Lancelot went forth to save her on that very day. And when he did, he used you, Arondight, to cut down 20 of his fellow Round Table Knights."

"And so I became an unholy blade. Well done, you are good at summaries. But you are missing something else."

"What?"

"You only recounted my origins, not my full story. For the past 800 years or so, my late master and I were ostracized as the very bringers of doom to the 'benevolent' King Arthur. No matter how much we tried to redeem ourselves, no matter how many Kishins we prevented from rising, we would remain to have all that blame, all that hate. And then what happened? I had to personally slay my master in order to save him from falling insane. Then I had to take this pathetic Excalibur disguise for the next 200 years...Do you know how maddening it is to be someone you are not, just so that you can escape the past?" Arondight snapped his cane in two as his voice became more pained and angry.

"So this whole charade is for vengeance? On everyone who wronged you? Arondight, the past is the past. Everyone no longer blames you anymore. Let it go."

"Oh if only it can be so simple, Death. I could have done that 800 years ago if everyone wasn't pulling me back into my past. The only reason people don't blame me is because I was Excalibur. No, Death. I can't let go. It's too late for me to simply let go of my history. But I am not here to kill everyone who blamed me for Arthur's death. I only want for my own history to simply disappear with the wind. Just like Odahving and Stein. We all wish to just fade away."

"Then why include the entire universe? How can you be so selfish as to assume that everyone else wants what you want?"

"It is a given, Death. Everyone has done something they regret. Everyone has their own moments of wanting to hide away in a corner and turn invisible. It is inevitable that everyone has that feeling. And in the distant future, I am very sure your own son will think that too. Once he finds out that he is torturing you to death every second."

"Do not include my son in this..."

"If you wish to avoid him from immersing into such a horrible feeling, I strongly suggest you let me destroy Death City. If not, you and your son will die..." Arondight muttered menacingly as he threw the two pieces of his cane away, letting them clang harmlessly to the side of the tower. "So what shall it be? It's time to take a side."

"I side with no one but the world." Death proclaimed proudly as he let Spirit go even closer to Arondight's neck. Thhe creature looked back, his eyes now staring dagger at him. "Then you just signed your death certificate..."

BOOOMMMM! "What?" Death gasped as he stumbled back, a torrent of wind and chaotic darkness amassing around Arondight. The whirlwind continued on to the tower of claymores, circling and engulfing it in its vast black mass. "How did you..." Death mustered his strength to withstand the massive pressure, which flicked at him like innumerable whips.

"Fool...I said that I needed time, didn't I? Well actually all I wanted to do was to stand close to Odahving. Just close enough for this..." Arondight explained condescendingly as he and the dark sinister voice of Odahving proceeded to speak simultaneously.

"SOUL RESONANCE!"

And the ground trembled. The dark typhoon begun to crush the giant tower, swallowing it in its endless streams of darkness. Death's eyes frowned at the chains breaking off one by one, falling towards the ground one by one. He begun to count how many chains were left. Twenty.

Ten.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

"My...my...he is persistent..." Death nearly jumped at the confident voice of Odahving, while the two remaining chains held fast. "That little canine is still fighting back. Even when his life hangs on two chains."

One. Death could feel a sudden howl of pain in the atmosphere. It wasn't a sound, more like a sudden change in the air. Whatever it was, it was clear that Lucifer was dying.

"You bastard, stop this madness!" Death yelled out in desperation. Odahving, still clouded from view, laughed. "Odahahahahaha...Stop? Just when the fun is just started? No, Mr. Death. My life is also endangered. It is only right that I fight back. And so...die, you overrated canine..."

SNAPPP!

**So Arondight and Odahving finally come together and Lucifer is just about to die. Took me a whole day to think out how to do this scene! Hope you like it! Please leave your precious reviews!**

**To Despicable – Keep it up with your story! As for Order, you can say that he is like Kid. If you increase his OCD by a million times and then his power level by a trillion times. And yeah, that's about a thousandth of Order. Oh and no, Nobie isn't the solution. It's one of the canon characters. When you fight a Kishin, you have to use another...**

**To Spartan – Thanks for the review! See you as well!**


	57. Odahving Chapter 11

"I had enough of this! Where's the way out of this place!" Alduin roared at the top of his voice as he looked left and right frantically. But all he could see was an endless expanse of forest around him. Gospel was sitting beside the fire, slowly poking at its dying embers with a stick. She reminded softly to Alduin, "We just need to wait for your mind to be ready..."

"Screw my mind! I need to get out of here and help the other! Who knows what Odahving is doing?" Alduin gritted his teeth before punching a tree in frustration. In an instant, the tree snapped into two giant pieces, which flew away in the wake of Alduin's strength. But nothing else changed. He was still in the vastness of the woods minus a tree. "Goddamn it! Even the reviewers think that I am a lazy salamander for staying in a coma for like 15 chapters!" He complained bitterly to Gospel, who just sighed in resignation.

"That's because the author are winding you up for an explosive entrance. Anyway, back to topic..." Gospel gazed at the sky. It was like any normal sky, a sky-blue sea with an occasional cloud floating about. "Do you know about the stars of Nirn? The 24 constellations that dot the night sky horizon."

Stumped by her question, Alduin felt his temper cool down. "Of course I do. My dad forced me to look at them everyday. Why?" Alduin's voice wavered when he mentioned his dad.

Gospel gazed at the boy, noticing his clenched fists, his fingernails making indents into his skin. "What if I told you that each constellation could provide you with powers?"

"That would be great. I would seriously need them to kick Chaos' and Order's ass." Alduin replied, his voice hateful at the names of his two opponents.

"Then what about if I told you they don't?"

Alduin quickly felt irritated. "Then why the hell would you tell me that they do? What are you getting at?"

"What I just showed you was how the people would look up to the sky, the stars and believe. Believe that the stars are bestowing upon them great powers. Believe that they can do anything with the stars at their side. It's just like how a person would look at a falling star and then wish upon it. Even if they know that it wouldn't help them."

"Hope..." Alduin muttered under his breath. His mind swiftly went back to the previous dream. "I take it that dream with Lucifer wasn't a real dream, was it?"

"Indeed..."

"What?" Alduin gasped in astonishment when the forest instantaneously disappeared, leaving him with Gospel in a mixture of darkness and light. It was such that he was standing in between the two colours of the ground, while Gospel stood on the light part, her back turned towards him. "Where are we?" Alduin asked as he was just about to take a step towards her.

Then the tendrils came.

"What the?" Alduin gasped as tendril after tendril begun to shoot out from the dark part of the ground, wrapping their sliterine-like body around his arms and torso. "Get off!" He yelled, bursting into his electric blue flames. "Soul Focus!" With a burning hand, he swatted a bunch of the tendrils away, letting them dissolve back into the pitch-black ground. But there was too many of them. "Gospel, I need help!" Alduin wheezed as he felt the tendrils now compress onto his chest, pushing the air out of him.

"I'm sorry, Master. You will have to face it yourself. The very thing that will break the cycle of hopelessness. This is your madness, Master. Your madness of Humanity." Gospel muttered solemnly, her back still turned. And she began to walk away.

"Hey, don't pull my leg, Gospel! I really need help!" Gospel could hear the cursing of Alduin as she continued to walk. "I can't do this alone! Help!" She could pick out his arms bashing against the tendrils in vain. "Ach...gah...help!" His voice became even softer and softer and softer. "Gospe-"And then all was silence.

Gospel hung her head as she came to a halt. "It is up to you now, Ira...It's time to wake him up..."

And the voice, same as from the last dream, came to speak into her ear. "You can count on me. The second test is complete."

"A virtue isn't always a virtue. Even hope, humility and humanity can turn on you sometimes. Fear them when they do."

"The very weakness of the people of Skyrim is their very virtues."

* * *

><p>"No!" Death yelled in fright as the final chain broke into two and the giant length of metal fell towards the ground. And whatever presence that was in the air, had completely vanished. A final burst of wind brushed through Death's cloak, before dying down in a slow death-like manner.<p>

"Odahahahahahah!" Death frowned at the dark smoke, obscuring Odahving from view. "Show your face, murderer!"

"My my, Mr. Death. Angry over the death of someone you barely knew! I think it's much more suitable for you to worry about yourself."

"What?" Death gasped as he felt a rush of air fly over him and the black smoke suddenly shot open, as if something, or someone had zoomed through it. "Odahahaha..." Death's eyes widened when he heard the laughter. It was right beside his face. "Damn you!" Death cursed as he gave Spirit a back swing, the blade flying over the ducking Odahving's head.

"Well...well.." Odahving was amused as he watched Death jump back away from him. "Didn't expect my speed to be so fast, weren't you?"

"Tsk..." Death gritted his teeth as he examined the new Odahving. The boy's body looked like last time but his garb had been completely changed. He now wore a long-sleeved shirt with chaotic red lines on it and his baggy jeans had a blazing fire pattern, which was literally moving. Over his shirt, he had a long dark open cloak with a red interior and a chin-high collar. On the back of the cloak was symbol of Chaos, a swallowing black hole. Removing his hands from under his cloak, Odahving revealed Arondight.

The sword was like the unholy version of Excalibur, a long broadsword with a demonic cross guard. The unblemished double-edged blade itself was red in color, with intricate inscriptions on the center, as well as having a black cutting edge. The guard had two chains over it and the hilt was a circular hold that had a blood red ruby on its end. Surrounding the sword was an aura of chaotic dark flames, flicking about furiously and ferociously.

Spirit gasped at the sight of the blade. When he looked at the sword, he could hear the screams of the 20 fellow knights that Lancelot had slain. For an instant he could hallucinate the sickly red blood on the blade. No wonder everyone blamed them for Arthur's downfall. With such a uncontrollable leakage of murderous intent, the unholy sword was sure to cause any person to immediately feel the obligation to assume such a conclusion. "Death..." He murmured to the Reaper worryingly.

"So..." Odahving hung his head, covering his eyes in the shadows, while a wide smile crept up his face. Raising it, he revealed a mad crazy expression on his face, a variant of the 'Excalibur' face, only that the eyes were now opened wide with an insane look and one side of the mouth ended in a wicked grin.

"...shall we begin?"

Bang! "Gah!" Death blurted out as Arondight clashed with Spirit's staff. The Kishin was almost on top of him. "Gack!" Spirit could feel his body shake against the brute strength of Arondight and Odahving.

"Not yet!" Death growled, bringing back his scythe for a counter swing. "Oh really?" Odahving smirked as he spun Arondight to meet the blade, just inches from his face. At the collision, a shockwave thundered through the ground, the air vibrating at the fighting of two superpowers.

"Odahaha!" Odahving cackled. With a swing, he pushed Spirit back and as Death stumbled, promptly gave a roundhouse kick into Death's mask. "GAAHHH!" Death yelled as he was shot into a nearby building. Bang! Debris flew into the air as a hole was punched through by the flying Reaper. Placing his shaking hand against the ground, Death steadily picked himself up. And his yellow eyes stared at the pleasantly surprised Odahving.

"My my...you look so much better without your mask!" Odahving sneered, placing Arondight casually onto his shoulder. And indeed, a part of Death's mask was broken. As the white fragment dropped to the ground, a pale face and a yellow eye could be seen. "You look so much like your son!"

"Urusai, Kishin! Shut up!" Death roared. Picking Spirit back up, he held the Death Scythe over his head. "SOUL RESONANCE!"

And what remained of the house was blown away by the advent of a huge rainbow-coloured blade. "Kishin Hunt!" Death howled in rage as he charged headlong into Odahving.

"Please...I'm several times more powerful than your idiotic Asura..." The boy coolly raised Arondight in his right hand. Clank! He stared on, his hair flying in the torrent of wind, at the huge blade now towering over him, the only thing between it and him was the unholy sword. "That's it?" Odahving gasped in mocking surprise. "I expected more!" And not once did he lose that manical smile of his.

"What?" Death's voice wavered as Odahving placed his other hand over Arondight, hence holding it in two hands. "Watch me..." Instantaneously, the strength behind the sword was suddenly much more powerful and Death could not help but find his rainbow energy blade being pushed back towards him. Before long, Odahving had the upper hand, Arondight and Spirit now clashing over Death's head. "Such brutal might..." Spirit whispered as he watched Death now being brought to his knees, his arms shaking to keep the scythe up against the black blade. "What shall you do now, Death? That begging position suits a person like you..." Odahving mocked on, not even exhibiting a hint of wear.

"And now for the finale..." The red-head sneered as he placed even more strength behind Arondight. "Damn it!" Death grimaced under the massive force behind the sword, beads of perspiration now running down his forehead. He felt the ground break beneath him with a loud "Boom!", the increasingly unstable stalemate between the weapons depressing the cracking floor. "Get ready!" Odahving hooted in a maniacal high voice, laughing away at his apparent victory.

Briefly flinging his head back in a fit of laughter, he suddenly brought it back down to stare eye-to-eye with Death. His black hole of a left eye sent shivers down Death's soul. Then the black hole pupil began to spin. "This is my eternal desire!" Death gawked at the new masses of chaotic darkness now rising from the ground around. Then tremors began, as the city was now taken in by a second even bigger earthquake. "Witness the magnificence of Chaos!" Odahving shouted, his spittle falling onto Death's face. With a wide grin, he unleashed his technique. And at that very moment, the world seemed to come to a standstill. Time itself was coming to a slow crawl. The vibrations, the tremors, the speed things were happening, was nearly non-existent in this moment. And the cracking of the ground, the voice of Spirit shouting at him, the lunatic bellows of his adversary were all tuned out. All Death could hear was silence, eerie silence. His exposed yellow eye widened in perpetual fear. His pupil could only shake in total despair. A great sense of dark foreboding engulfed him. He was truly in the calm before the storm.

"UNDEFINED SPACE!"

**Hope you like this latest update! Please review! Also still accepting OC suggestions! Cheers! :)**


	58. Odahving Chapter 12

"Wh...wha?" Alduin murmured. Straining to keep his eyes open in the glare of the overhead lamp, he slowly tested his muscles, flexing them. Feeling around, he found the bed's handlebar and pulled himself up. His body was yelling at him in total lethargy, as he shook off his headache. His eyelids closing and opening rapidly, his vision was coming back to him, as he willed his lazy legs to pull themselves out from under the bed blanket. Massaging his sleeping biceps, he gave them a firm wake-up slap and then allowed his feet to touch the ground. His first attempts to stand ended in failure, with him instinctively drawing back onto the bed before his knees could collapse, their nerves numb and sensitive. Only the addition of a supporting hand on the bed handlebars was he able to unsteadily bring himself back up. No matter what, Alduin had definitely been asleep for a long time.

He rubbed his sweaty temples, and suddenly the memories came back in full force. The death of Akatosh, Gospel, the dream, Lucifer's sudden disconnection. At first glance, it was like you were on the Titanic watching the ill-fated iceberg head straight for you. However, they returned slowly, the protective state having done its work, while Alduin finally shook his legs awake. Then the tendrils. The last thing he could remember from the dream. Even now he could feel chills down his spine. The fact that he remembered the turned back of Gospel walking away didn't help. Alduin shivered at that image. "What were you trying to show me?" He thought to the shield bracelet, resting on his left wrist. But no response was given.

Just when he finally found the steadiness to stand on his two feet, Alduin's ears perked up at the soft but approaching footsteps, his eyes immediately eyeing the medical room door. "Can't be too careful..." he told himself as he raised his fist, coating it in his Soul Focus electrical black fire. The footsteps got progressively louder, each one sounding deliberately fast. What's more they seem to be following the beat of a song. Suddenly, they halted right at the closed entrance. As the metallic round knob turned slowly, Alduin could hear the low hum of someone behind it. It was easy to miss and even easier to mistake as the sound of the breeze. Watching the little knob turn, Alduin could feel himself hold his breath.

Clack! The door creaked open. Just a creak, but it was enough. "Take this!" Alduin yelled at the top of his voice, taking a step forward and sending forth his burning fist.

And he stopped, the flames close to licking the pale-skinned face of a surprised 16-year old girl. "Woah! Woah! Watch it, Alduin!" She was about his height, with a slim build. Wearing an orange turtleneck sweater that bares her midriff, the girl was shocked enough to firmly grasp onto the pair of cordless green DJ headphones over her ears. Her short blonde hair had two long lengths on the sides of her face, with the right one long enough to reach her shoulder. The back of her hair was obviously used to the presence of headphones, with even some of it covering the lime green headband. Her baggy mantis-coloured jeans nearly covered her blue-white-striped shoes, the former being held by a black belt, with a star centre. "Calm down..." The girl gestured to him nervously.

Feeling his sense of fear dissipate, Alduin finally found himself able to exhale. Just as his lungs frantically took in the refreshment of oxygen, His shaking knees buckled under him, and he sat against the shiny medical bed frame. His burning hand dropped to the ground beside him, its agitated flames crying in hunger as they scattered into thin air. "Who...who are you...?" Alduin pointed a wavering finger towards Ms. Headphones.

"Me? Name's Cyril. Cyril Yiuta." The girl gave a cheerful smile towards Alduin. Despite the fact that she nearly got screwed over by a burning fist. "I'm one of your classmates! Didn't you know?"

"What?" Alduin stammered uncertainly as he thought back to the first time he came to class. Now that she said that, he did indeed see her there.

"You are that girl sitting in the back 4th row! The one who kept humming to herself."

The girl nodded in joyful acknowledgement. "Yep! Got the nail right on the head!"

"So what do you want?" Alduin shook his head. It was still continuing to ache. "You okay?" Cyril asked in concern, the girl kneeling down to put both her hand on the each side of his head, her fingers running through his black hair. "Here. This will help."

"Huh?" Alduin barely had any time to react before the teenager's hands begun to glow. Then he suddenly felt his brain jolt awake as a sudden sound of varying frequency begun to play. The feeling was unpleasant at first, but eventually he could felt light-headed. Good as new.

"What was that?" Alduin inquired with great relief while the girl removed her hands from his now clear head. His body felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Which is a pretty good feeling indeed. Cyril explained. "Your headache was due to imbalance within your ears. Your ears are your main point that help you to balance yourself. What I just did was to release a sound at the certain frequency that helps your ears relax and recover the vertigo you were experiencing just now. So you feel better now?"

"Ye...yeah. Thanks." Alduin replied, his voice apologetic. "It's alright." Cyril assured him as she lifted him back up to his feet. "Can't be too careful, right?" She beamed another smile.

Alduin slowly nodded, feeling horrible inside for his attempt to punch her. Then his head suddenly flashed back onto Odahving and almost as if on cue, a loud bang could be heard as the ground rumbled. A rush of wind burst through the windows, swinging them open and sending the curtains flying. "What's happening outside?" Alduin gulped nervously, his mind making a hundred possibilities, with one of them shining brightly like a light bulb in the dark. As he rushed out of the room, Cyril could only run after him, screaming "Hey, wait up!".

'Please don't let it be him...' Alduin begged desperately as he shoved past an unusual blue-skinned zombie. "Hey!" The zombie shouted to him but the boy paid no heed.

"Sorry..." Cyril apologized, deftly jumping over the surprised Sid. "So this is your idea of a cameo?" Sid yelled to our lovely readers as he hurriedly turned to run for the medical room, in the opposite direction of Alduin and Cyril.

Whir! Whir! Whir! Alduin frowned as shelfs, doors, windows seemingly flew past him, while in actuality he was the one speeding down the corridor. As he approached the stairs, Alduin gritted his teeth at the sight of the two floors between him and the lobby. His mind was clearer than ever and before he knew it he was bursting into black flames. He turned to scream at the floor as he spun his arm about, a huge mass of Soul Focus fire forming a giant heavy ball on it. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Jumping into the air, Alduin shot the huge black fireball towards the ground. Boom! Bang! In a few seconds, Cyril gawked as the giant sphere of destruction punched its way through the two offending floors. As he watched the ball approach the lobby floor, Alduin glared while he gave a sharp snap of his fingers, his body descending through the huge hole at the same time.

Whoof! Before it could demolish the lobby fall, the ball dispersed into a wide coat of fire, before burning out into thin air. And following it was Alduin.

Crash! The ground cracked at receiving his descent, a depression created on the stone floor. Dust scattered into the surroundings, while pieces of broken off stone dropped down from their flight like little raindrops. As his trenchcoat flew in the air behind him like a cape, Alduin's frowning night-black eyes eyed upon the landscape of Death City just in front of him. Picking himself up, Alduin barely had time to regard Cyril coming down from the stairs before he begun to run towards the Death Academy stairs, the girl not far behind.

Then a cloaked figure appeared, making his way up the stairs.

"Get Out Of My Way!" Alduin roared as he charged another huge fireball of a fist. "Woah!" Xeal Dragomir had only a second to duck from the charging beast of a boy. As the flaming ball sailed over his bent down head, Xeal hurriedly grabbed Alduin's nearing fist, careful to make sure he still had his patients. "Stop that!" Xeal warned as he pulled Alduin in, so that the boy's agitated black eyes met with Xeal's own blue slitted ones, the latter telling the other to "Back off".

"Xeal! Alduin!" Cyril finally managed to catch up with the two, briefly bending down to catch her shallow fast breath. "Man...thank god you are..." Cyril trailed off as she witnessed the two tall males staring deep into each other's eyes, as if they were two volcanoes side by side. Now it was simply time before one of them erupted. Cyril took a step back from the duo. She was fully aware of Xeal's temper. "Guys...calm down..."

Moodily silent, Alduin took a brief glance at the mortal hand that was holding his. "Let me...go..." He stared daggers straight at Xeal, who didn't seem to budge. Instead the 2-star meister reciprocated the same glare. Hissing back, the meister's grip strengthened. "Try to make me..." With a fling, Xeal threw the unconscious Maka towards Cyril. "Eh?AH...ARGH!" Cyril gasped in surprise as she quickly jumped back to rescue the flying girl from Xeal's overly forceful throw, landing in a cloud of dust.

As he let Akira and Soul slide down his back to the ground beside him, Xeal begun to crack his free knuckle menacingly in Alduin's face, each crack louder than the other. "You dare?" Alduin huffed. Maka and the gang are okay for him. But a total stranger threatening him in his face is as good as dead.

"You ready?"

"Bring it!"

"YARGH!" Xeal and Alduin roared in tandem as they brought their own fist back, each eager to punch the other in the face. "Eat this!" Both gritted their teeth at one another as their punch neared their opponent's face. Thankfully, they didn't get the chance to meet the other's jaw.

BOOM! "Huh?" Xeal and Alduin were shocked out of their battle trance, turning to look upon the source of the huge explosive sound. A rush of wind blew through the air, sending their respective cloak and coat waving about. "Wh...what?" Cyril exclaimed as she carefully set down Maka on the ground beside the prone Soul and Akira. At the sight of the two men freezing up as if they saw a ghost, Cyril could not help but look where their eyes were giving their undivided attention to. And then she froze up as well.

In the distance down below, a small but chaotic column of energy was shooting into the air. It wasn't remarkably big in its little area of destroyed houses and piles of debris, the whole thing possibly being only about 5 metres tall. Yet, there was a sense of foreboding, some feeling of danger when one looks upon the unstable moving dense wisp of black energy dancing in the air. A vast wave of dark clouds now blanketed the skies, casting a dark shadow that was bearing its way down the large desert, straight towards Death City. "What in the world...?" Xeal murmured in suspicious awe at the scene. Alduin remained quiet, his veins showing out of his arms. Something was about to happen.

Then something happened.

"Look!" Cyril pointed out towards the column of black energy. The trio gawked as the column shot out like the spines of a porcupine for a brief moment, before returning to its epicenter to converge into a dark dense small sphere. And at the same time, the shadow had now covered all of Death City. Almost immediately Alduin felt his jaw tense up, his brain screaming at him to move and his feet were rooted to the ground. Not good. Not good at all. "Everybody, get down!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as the trio quickly bent down behind the walls of the Death City Staircase.

"UNDEFINED SPACE!"

And just when Alduin got his head down, a huge brilliant black-white flash nearly blinded him. Instead of the tiny column of energy, a massive solid pulsating dome of powerful darkness filled the combat area. The dome was at least 60 metres wide and reached a height tall enough to dwarf the many houses around it. In essence, it was like a nuclear bomb, creating a warpath of destruction in its devastating awakening. The ground trembled erratically under the incredible power of the explosion and even the spikes on the skulls of the Academy were shaken off, breaking into a gazillion pieces of stone.

As Alduin felt a huge shockwave run through the ground, his ears were deafened by an accompanying loud "BOOMMMM!". A rushing tidal wave of dust, sand and light debris followed soon enough and it was only thanks to Cyril's quick thinking that Alduin's head poking out was saved from a flying hammer. The roar of the energy was so loud, that when Cyril opened her mouth to speak to Alduin, all he could see was her mouth opening and closing. He just couldn't hear her voice in the midst of thundering noise. The noise was like static, chattering and painful to their heads. Even worse, it sounded like space was being ripped apart. "Huh?" He tried to utter back but to no avail. His voice too was swept away in the overwhelming sea of sound. In the wake of the shockwaves, Xeal's hood slipped down his head, revealing his now flying mess of silver hair, the boy covering his face with his gauntlet arm.

After what seemed like an eternal nightmare, slowly but surely, the uproar begun to die down. "Is it over?" Cyril finally spoke as the trio dared to poke their heads out. And sure enough, the gargantuan mass of black energy was now rising into the air, dispersing away into nothingness. The quakes came to a stop and the wind died down once again. All seemed like normal and calm. But the technique was not without its devastation.

"No...way..." Xeal felt his heart sank at the scene. In clear view, a large area, just the size of the giant dome, had been completely void of its previous houses and buildings. Instead, a scattering of blue innocent souls was left, levitating helplessly around the center of the demolished area. "The poor sods..." Alduin thought as his eyes narrowed onto whoever was standing in the distant center of the cleared area. Encircled by an area of houses swept over by the shockwaves, a red-haired boy dressed in a black cloak coolly stood over the prone body of a man. Then, Alduin gasped as he saw a familiar black cape fly near the two and then the man turned to reveal his face being covered by a fragmenting skull mask. Near him was an unmoving scythe, which promptly transformed to reveal another red-haired man in a grayish black tux.

"Death..." Xeal gritted his teeth as his arm immediately turned into a broad intricate runed blade. "Wait!" Cyril hurriedly grabbed the silver-haired boy by the hand. "You can't just go out there!"

"Watch me!" Xeal growled, pulling his hand free before attempting to jump forth to Death's rescue. Suddenly, an arm appeared in front of him, stalling him. Xeal's blue eyes frowned and glared into the black ones of Alduin, shooting him a warning look. "You want to stop me?"

"Calm down. This doesn't concern you."

"Doesn't concern me? Whatever concerns Death, is my concern too. Don't you tell me how to live!" Xeal swung his blade-arm to push Alduin aside. His now feral eyes open casually in half-slits, Alduin calmly raised his hand. Bang! "Huh?" Xeal gasped as his blade-arm was stopped in its path by Alduin's opposing hand, the latter holding on tightly to the metallic surface of the 1 metre blade. Alduin's face stared back at Xeal's surprised face with nonchalance and indifference, the boy's free hand then producing a stone it was holding. The stone proceeded to glow red, revealing the animal on it to be a raging phoenix, bathing in its aura of blood-red. "Ira..." Alduin murmured under his breath as he proceeded to throw the yelling Xeal back up the stairs. "Take care of him..." Alduin suggested to the stunned Cyril, turning to face the sight of Odahving. Cyril was just about to protest but the girl decided against it. "Be careful..." Cyril warned, before running back to Xeal's side.

"Ha...bloody mortals..." Alduin muttered annoyed. The ground and air around him begun to shake minorly as his Wrath transformation completed. His arms, now with black scales, flexed as his electrical black flaming scarf floated about in the air pressure around him. After a brief stretching of his neck left and right, Alduin's beast-like pupils focused onto his unaware target: Odahving.

"Wait for me, Odahving. I'm going to make sure you sign your resignation letter to Chaos..."

**Alduin is awakened! CHEERS! *claps proudly* You guys got a first hand-look at my newest attack UNDEFINED SPACE and Get Out of My Way (GOOM WAY for short)! Hope you like it and please review! **


	59. Odahving Chapter 13

"Urgh...damnit..."Death cursed as he attempted to crawl his way back up, his body lying on its front. But to no avail, as his legs have now been completely exhausted. Watching the rising mass of dispersing black energy, Death finally managed to spot Spirit lying nearby, the red-head unconscious. "Spirit-kun..." he murmured as he tried to reach his weapon. Chink! Death's yellow eyes widened in shock as a familiar black-edged red blade stabbed into the ground just in front of his trembling palm. Beads of nervous perpiration ran down his fragmenting skull mask, a familiar voice humming melodiously, making his stomach twist. "Odahaha...odahaha...odahaha..."

**Background music: Bleach Music Track – Treachery**

I can tell that you've never been true to me

Crunch! Crunch! The unholy sword twisted and turned, digging deeper into the ground menacingly. Death's pupils dilated in shock as he heard the sound of a cape flying in the air. Like a flag dancing in a victorious dance. Then the light steps of someone deliberately walking up to him. "Hrrgh!" Death grunted as he lifted his body over, just in time to see a towering boy, whose red hair embraced the wind, flying in whatever little movement of the air. His cape, also floating the wind, casted a shadow over Death, whose entire body was frozen at the sight of his foe. And what was behind him.

I can smell that you're acting so fearfully

Odahving's wolfish grin increased in size at the incredulous expression in his foe's eyes. "Like my new augmentation?" He smirked and brought his free arm around, allowing it to feel the new giant crescent moon-like shape of concentrated energy levitating just inches behind his back.

The energy structure exuded a presence of terror and chaos, the air even picking up as Odahving's hand patted and smoothed it, as if it was a pet. His eyes were full of care and love as he looked upon his new power. Then his pupils turned to regard Death coldly.

I can hear what you're hoping I want to hear

"Uphold your oath, Honorem!" Odahving proclaimed to the sky, his voice thunderous and powerful. As if in response, the black energy crescent glowed bright with a purple tint. Then the feathers came.

In a horrific version of Excalibur's wings, eight long thin jet-black spikey feathers begun to materialize bit by bit onto the structure. As they attached to the crescent, they contracted and relaxed as if they were real muscles, flexing to test their readiness. Eventually, Odahving stood over Death, smiling, as his crescent wings, 4 feathers on each side, gave a huge flap.

I can feel the alarm bells are ringing in me

"Argh!" Raising his arms, Death attempted to shield himself from the huge gale, which continued over to fly over the entire area that had been miserably flattened by Undefined Space. As the wind blew through the surrounding souls, the little aquamarine orbs were sucked up in its wake, before they all were sent flying towards Odahving. "NO!" Death yelled, outstretching his arm to barely catch one of the souls.

"Join me in body and soul for the new universe..." Odahving smirked as his mouth opened up wide, revealing a giant endless chasm within his mouth. In a flash, the souls begun to be sucked in by a massive vacuum from his opened jaws. Odahving's eyes flashed with great delight at his rapidly disappearing meal. Moments later, all that was left of the innocent souls was the one Death managed to catch.

"You're a foolish little being, don't you know that?" Odahving mocked, raising his leg over Death's hand. Stomp! "Argh!" Death gritted his teeth as Odahving begun to step on his arm, attempting to torture him to let go of the last soul. Stomp! "Yarrgh!"

I can touch but I know you don't feel a thing

"Why do you fight the most fundamental nature of men? Men consume the weak. Men destroy the powerless. Men fight and die no matter what. Men will enrich themselves with power before being overthrown Men will always live in an endless power flux. Why do you refuse to accept that, Mr. Death?" Stomp! "Ktch!"

I can pray but I know you commit a sin

"A universe where no one is remembered. Where all will fight in a constant survival for the fittest. Where everyone becomes humble, knowing their strengths and their limits. They know when to fight, when to run. Humility is a virtue, Death! That is why you should make your sacrifice for such a true cause." Stomp! "Damn it!"

I can sense now it's all become clear to see

"Yet you persist..." Odahving raised his leg in another torturous attack. Suddenly, Death's other arm quickly grabbed Odahving's leg. "What?" Odahving gasped in his disembodied voice, his heterochromatic eyes now meeting with that of Death's, as the fragments covering the latter's other eye finally fell off. Death's voice came out weak and raspy, but determined.

"The reason I will refuse your universe...is because your 'virtue' is not humility. You have turned it into something of a much more sinister motive. You dictate such a form of humility, to the point that you become a self-pitiful fool. Confident in your own weaknesses. Hopeless about your own strengths. If everyone is like you, your world will not be in a power flux. Instead, no one will dare to take the power in the first place. Everyone will just stand about idly watching as they captured by the deathly grasped of Now who will accept a universe like that?" Stomp! "YAAARGH!" Death screamed at the top of his lungs, his arm savagely broken by the powerful foot pound.

You're no good, and you mean no good, treacherously

"You hallucinate, Death. While I commend you for making such a powerful analysis, I must defer." Odahving murmured condescendingly. Pulling Arondight out of the ground, Odahving admired the red-black blade, allowing him to see his reflection on the metallic sheen. "Indeed, it will all begin with an idle world." Odahving ignored the pained moans of Death, who was gripping his fractured arm in anguish. "But who will be at the top in this very beginning? Who will help Chaos govern the universe? That will be me." Odahving grinned manically, kneeling down beside the grimacing Death, putting his mouth against where Death's ear was supposed to be.

"And what happens when I die? Well, let's just say...a lot of men will want my position...An empty position just for the taking...no matter how humble a person is...he can't refuse such an blatant offer..." Odahving whispered, his tone malefic and ominous.

"You...you are..." Death gasped amid shallow breaths of pain. "Yes." Odahving's sadistic smile made his piercing of his arm's skin with Arondight's sharp tip all the more unnerving. Slick! Odahving licked his lips with fervor as he watched his red blood drip down his arm, hitting the floor like the drops of a partially closed water tap. "You're mad!" Death scolded Odahving before he was kicked down again by Odahving's foot.

"No, you're just delusional." Odahving's arrogant eyes looked upon the struggling Death, while his clawed fingers now wrapping around Arondight's hilt even tighter than ever. "I'm sure you know about us, Mr. Death..."

"Huh?"

"Me and Alduin. I never even told you about who Chaos really is and you spoke as if you two were old friends. So you got a tasty look at his soul? Or maybe one of your subordinates?"

"Tch!"

'Then it is logical that you already know where we didn't come from another time. Indeed, Alduin and I aren't time travelers from the future in the first place. But a hint: we are from another world..."

Death's white eyebrows frowned at Odahving's words. "You...you..." Death coughed out blood mid-sentence.

"You shouldn't push yourself, old man..." Odahving advised with poorly-hidden sarcasm. "Keep my words in mind. They are words I'm sure your TRUE weapon would agree as well..." Odahving turned to gaze at Spirit lying in the distance, before snorting in disgust.

"WHAT?" Death exclaimed in astonishment, furiously pulling himself up, only for Odahving's foot to put him back in his place.

"Ah! Antarctica! I see! So that's it!" Odahving beamed to himself proudly, as the Kishin boy showed his dark red eye to Death. "Veri Interios...It allows me to gaze into your very soul. Your memories, your thoughts, even things you aren't even aware of...they are all blatant to me..."

Odahving giggled to himself in triumph, while ruffling his unkempt hair with his free hand. "It took me a while to wear down that mighty soul of yours so that I can see into it. But it was well worth it! Who knew you were holding more secrets other than Asura?"

"You fucking idiot!" Death swore, giving a well-aimed spit of blood into Odahving's face. "You don't even know who you are going to have to deal with..." Swoosh! Death gasped as another small portion of his mash, the forehead, was sliced off by a slight swing of Arondight. He was now staring up the blade towards Odahving's smirking face.

"Oh I DO know..." Odahving hooted as he pointed at his red eye in a "I told you before" manner. "I got your memories, right?" A wide smile on his face, Odahving casually waved Arondight's tip in front of Death's face, along with what little was left of his mask. Then he suddenly stopped his taunting sword waves.

"I'm tired..." Odahving sighed, his voice now clearly irritated by what seemed to boredom to him. "I'll just kill you right now." "Ha..." Death's yellow-pupiled eyes widened in arrested attention as Arondight begun to rise. At the same time, the air was beginning to pick up, as sand and dust begun to be flung up into the air. Raising the accursed broadsword over his head, Odahving gave Death a final deathly cold stare. "I assume you will have no last words..."

"Tch!" Death's heavy eyelids closed in preparation, as he begun to pray. Images of his son flashed through his mind. The kid trying desperately to dye his hair. The boy demanding that his room be perfecty symmetrical. His son always changing the Death statues into symmetrical stances. "And no...you won't get to see your son anymore..." Odahving muttered viciously to Death. "Die!"

Swoosh!

Death's body immediately tensed up at the sound of the blade cutting through the air like butter, his fate seemingly sealed by its advance. But he was in for a surprise. At first, death seemed painless. He thought that he was already struck down by the blade and had been sent into the darkness of hell. Thus he kept his eyes closed. Then, a sudden whoosh of air breezed through his face and the ground trembled briefly. Finally, the last fragments of his mask broke off his face, lightly chinking against the ground on contact. Only then was he convinced that he wasn't dead.

"Hu...huh?" Death cautiously opened his eyes, still expecting him to see nothing more than darkness. Instead, the sight of the cracked ground, with dusty stones and pebbles within the tiny crevices, appeared before him. Raising his head, Death almost jumped when his forehead met the Arondight's point, which had stopped short of bisecting his head. The chilling eyes of Odahving didn't seem to see him, their pupils at the corners, as if they were looking at something behind him.

As his pale exposed face shivered at the near death experience, Death shortly fell over onto his side, but his eyes focused just in time to spy the scarf of electrical black flames, drifting in the ever-present wind. His heavy eyelids now closing once again, Death could barely make out the sight of an angry Alduin standing back to back with an angry Odahving. As he blacked out, two thoughts was going through his mind.

One: 'It's a miracle! I'm alive!'

Two: 'Things are going to go to hell.'

**Hope you like the ending of this chapter! Let's be honest here. Of course he'll thank the gods for being alive! Thanks and good night! Next up: Cyril Yiuta.**


	60. Extras: Cyril Yiuta

**Hi guys! As I mentioned before, this is the second Bio of Odahviing Rising. Our subject today is our local DJ, Cyril Yiuta. All of the Unusual (Xeal, Akira etc.) have mentioned her, so I'm sure we are interested who she really is. Also this is the first bio to have a few changes in the typical structure. Please do review!**

**BIO TIME!**

**Cyril Yiuta**

**Name: **Cyril Yiuta; In English, her Japanese family name means "Beautiful Song".

**(NEW) Nationality: **American-Japanese

**Age: **17

**Alias: **DJ Yiuta, DJ Y, 2-star meister

**(NEW) Music Theme**: Trust me by Yuya Matsushi

**Biography:**

Cyril is one of the Unusual, another gang within DWMA whose members are all weapons and meisters who possess, as the name suggests, extraordinary and unusual powers and forms. She hails from New York, having had some experience as a Disc Jockey in some of the younger clubs, and her mother was Japanese, while her dad was a US marine who passed away honorably. In order to help her depressed mother, Cyril wanted to join DWMA for some cash that was part of her student contract.

However she was soon to find out that her mother had gone over the edge and that no amount of help could save her. Hence, her mother was euthanized for her sake and Cyril presented the choice to leave DWMA. But, in memory of her deceased parents and to fill the void within her heart, Cyril chose to stay, becoming the school's DJ and joining the Unusual. Since then, she has never regretted that decision, becoming more cheerful and outgoing than her initial detached and shy self.

In terms of power, Cyril is truly one of the most unique members of Unusual, her weapon form being considered to be one of the most unorthodox types of weapons. She has the ability to turn into sound for bursts of time, granting her tremendous speed and power.

However, the power sound came with a price: she was to be deaf. In order to help her control her powers and allow her to hear, her father, an avid engineer by hobby, designed her now signature green headphones, which she know wears over her ears all the time, except when she fights. In battle, she slings them over her neck and becomes deaf again, but allows her combat sound-abilities to activate.

At the same time, this means she has never known how her sound-form actually sounds like and when she asks her friends, no one answers. Which makes her sometimes wonder: Why?

In some point as a student, Cyril had bumped into Crona, the boy just finishing his Death Scythe creation. After some friendly chats, Crona agreed to train Cyril in the short period of time he had before his endless chain of missions, thus teaching her Screeching Soul Resonance.

**Personality:**

In the past, Cyril was known to keep to herself and never liked to be in groups. She had chosen to sat at one of the corners of the classroom just so that she can hide in the shadows. However, she soon attracted attention when people found out about her experience as a DJ, leading many to think of her as cool and as fun to be with due to typical stereotypes of a personality and character of a disc jockey as being cool and hip.

When her parents passed away one after the other, Cyril was also very depressed at that time, a clear emptiness of the lack of a loved one haunting her. Even now she still kept her void in her heart, waiting for someone to fill it up. For now, she is alright to settle with the staunch little-spoken Xeal Dragomir, who she regards as one of her greatest friends.

Currently, Cyril has become outgoing, friendly, humourous and even altruistic, having played as a DJ at some charity conventions. She is like Gospel in her ability to lend a listening ear, or headphone, to other people about their troubles and can connect with many people on a personal level. This was displayed when she easily got Alduin to calm down and even say "Thanks" after he attacked her in personal defence. She is also even helpful, shown when she helped Alduin remove his headache.

However, she is also somewhat afraid of people, especially extremely powerful ones like Xeal and Alduin, and can be daunted by such a being near her. In essence, she is like the Maka of the group, both notably good in something (music-making in this case) and also knowing when they are outmatched. She is also helpful like Maka and can also pull herself back up with sheer force of will due to her traumatic past giving her strength.

**Powers:**

**Sound Weapon Form – **In battle, when she removes her headphones from her ears, Cyril has the ability to turn into sound, granting her to become a huge tornado-like projectile of sound waves and hence letting her be intangible. The form lasts for 10 seconds each time, due to propagation of the sound waves making her potentially too scattered. In the normal air, she is also able to reach speeds of 300 m/s, thus making her one of the fastest characters there is. Her speed also powers her ramming-based fighting style and the fact that sound never loses speed to friction makes her even more deadly, allowing numerous attacks in her brief transformation time. She is also able to change only certain parts of her body to give them a much longer perseverance time, using them to give huge shockwave-like strikes or sound energy blasts. In between full-body transformations, she has a recharge time of 5 seconds, leaving her vulnerable. However she can still use (albeit weaker) partial transformations to protect herself then.

**Sonar: **A wide sound wave that cuts like a blade. It possesses good range and incredible speed.

**Rhythm:** A set of rhythming soundwaves that then accumulate due to the rhythm they are set in, allowing a powerful concentrated blast.

**Sonic:** Cyril's typical charging move when in her full-body form. It attacks at the speed of sound and is even more effective than used in other substances such as water, where the speed of sound is 1500 m/s.

**Concerto: **In full-body transformation, Cyril attacks her opponent with an all-out large sound energy projection, which on contact creates large explosions. She can use this 10 times at most in a day before her life is in danger.

**Sound-based abilities – **Beyond combat, Cyril also shows her ability to manipulate sound through her DJ profession and also can use them in support abilities, such as communication, remedial healing, power enhancement etc. She can even, like Soul Eater, use her sound to assist in Chain Resonance, hence allowing a more powerful group.

**Sensory Enhancement – **Due to her experience as a deaf person, Cyril's other senses are enhanced, especially her sight, which allows her to perceive time quicker and hence use her super-fast sound-wave form much more efficiently. Hence Time Slow and other time-affecting techniques lose their natural effectiveness against her.

**Screeching Soul Resonance – **A technique usually used by Crona, Cyril learned it when Crona decided to teach her for a short while. When used, it not only unleashes a massive screeching sound wave when used but also increases her power ten-fold. She is able to move at Mach 10, attack even stronger and her transformations can last for 100 seconds. Her partials become more controlled and bigger, allowing better offensive and defensive capabilities.

**Gakudan (Orchestra in Japanese): **Drawing all her strength and belief in her Japanese mother, Cyril then engulfs her pointing finger in a condenced coat of soundwaves. As the music of an entire orchestra, she then touches the air with her finger, creating a ripple-like effect for a brief moment, before unleashing a huge skyward sound beam that attacks everything in its wake. As the beam shoots to the sky and ravages the groun, the lack of an explosive sound is noticeable and instead one will hear the final playing of an orchestra, amid a standing ovation.

**Rocking the World:** This time with belief and pride for her fallen American father, Cyril then stands as if she was holding a guitar in her hands. Then as she raised her playing hand, a small guitar-disk shaped concentration of soundwaves form in her enclosed fingers. Finally, she then plays her air-guitar, bringing the soundwave guitar-disk down through whatever guitar strings there are. In response, the disk now creates a cracking effect on the air it moves through and the attack is soon revealed. (Hehehe...not telling you...)

**Hope you like this new structure! Please do review! **

**Ahh...I love the taste of freshly created updates...Omnomnomnomnom...**


	61. Odahving Chapter 14

**So here is the first of many epic battles! Odahving vs Alduin. Took me a while to storyboard it but the final number of chapters for this battle will be 5. So just sit back and watch(read) the show! **

"To be honest, I never thought you would wake up fast enough..."

Odahving felt his maniacal grin on his face begin to creep away, his mouth now becoming straight and emotionless. As he gazed at the Alduin's scarf, the black flames giving off a electrical crackle, the piece of 'fabric' brushed against Odahving's dark energy wings, while the two owners stood back-to-back to each other. Odahving turned his head to look at Alduin over his shoulder and the Kishin nearly gasped when he saw that Alduin wasn't doing the same, instead looking straight ahead into whatever was in front of him.

"Odahving, do you really want to do this? Do you want to fight me?" Alduin's deep voice was tense and with a tint of anger. His brows furrowed, Odahving replied back, his own disembodied voice conceited. "Trying to play psychologist on me? That won't work..."

"You can stop this. Just calm down..." Alduin's voice trailed off at Odahving's sudden interjection. "OdaHahaha...Calm down? The beast of anger tells me to calm down?" After a brief bout of laughter, Odahving continued on, his speaking now sinister and menacing. "Don't tell me when to calm down...For too long I've been under your heel. I was your right-hand man, your assistant, your brother-in-arms. Yet you never gave me even a shred of dignity or credit. You took it all like the 'boss' you are."

Odahving gave a brief glance at Death, whose human body, now fully exposed without its black cloak, lay strewn to one side. He quickly gave himself a mental note to finish the job later and then pulled out the expectant Arondight from its position in the ground. Twirling his sword in one hand, Odahving went back to looking at Alduin over his shoulder. Yet, the ex-god simply stood there, quiet as his scarf timelessly flew in the wind. It was getting on his nerves.

"Why won't you look at me?" Odahving shouted at Alduin, his voice now malevolent and wrathful. Even then, Alduin simply stood there, unresponsive and indifferent to Odahving's tantrum. "Why? Why won't you look at me at all? Am I really trash in your eyes?"

Then Alduin spoke. "If you see that you are trash, then what good is my opinion?"

"Don't lecture me!" Odahving gave a heavy huff as his grip around Arondight tightened. "Don't you, a preposterous son-of-a-bitch, EVER lecture me!" Raising Arondight, Odahving gave a roar of pure rage, the blade glowed in darkness. Holding it in a backhand method, Odahving proceeded to smash the tip of the sword into the ground. BOOM! A repelled wave of dust shot over the surrounding ground, as the soil cracked and depressed under Odahving's massive strength. "Tch!" Odahving grinned at the sound of Alduin's gasp. His ex-leader wasn't so rock-solid after all.

"So I guess we are both surprised at something, huh?" His confidence returned, Odahving twirled Arondight about while flexing his arms in a show of strength to the surprised Alduin. "Were you expecting something else?" Odahving hooted behind Alduin's still unturned back. "I'm no longer the same Odahving you once knew. Even as Wrath, you can't beat me. At best, and even Chaos will doubt it, you may only equal me."

Alduin's head still refused to turn. "You should stop giving me the cold shoulder act..." Odahving smiled intensely as he spun around to allow his full body to face Alduin, his energy wings flapping in the already turbulent air, making the resultant squall even stronger. "I believe I know what I can do to turn your head."

"What?"

Ignoring Alduin's apparent astonishment, Odahving's heart felt warm as his free hand slipped into his jean pocket. Then, when he found what he wanted, he deliberately pulled it out as if he was going to show it to the whole world in presentation. As its golden tag gave a metallic sound of 'chink, chink' in the wind, a red dog collar was held tightly in the fingers of Odahving. Alduin couldn't help but finally turn his head, as his widened eyes took in the collar's sudden appearance. On the golden dog tag, he could clearly make out the word, engraved in bold italics. _**Lucifer**_.

"HAHAHA! YOU FINALLY LOOKED AT ME!" Odahving laughed hysterically at his success. Just as he was opened his mouth to mock Alduin even more, BANG! "ARGH!" Odahving gawked as his face was smashed into by a sudden expanding shield. Looking at Alduin angrily for answers, Odahving was even more stunned when he found his opponent's dropping jaw at the sudden appearance of the shield.

"Gospel...when...?" Alduin stammered but then a girl's voice, clearly pissed off, swiftly interrupted him, as she begun to talk to the still surprised Odahving. "Give that collar back!"

"Who...who are you?" Odahving demanded with aggression but the girl's voice was fiercer. "I won't forgive you for using Lucifer to unnerve Alduin! To be used to attack his own master is insulting to his pride! Your very waving of his collar is already a downright defaming to his name! Even worse, your insensitive actions are pulling his existence back into this world! Just when he is about to be at a better place." "Go...Gospel?" Alduin stuttered at the sudden burst of outrage given by Gospel, the girl he knew to smile gently and protect rather than attack.

"What gives you the right to scold me, to tell me about morals? You are nothing more than a shield...huh?" Odahving was then struck by the silver shield glowing with an aura of pure sinless white. In a matter of seconds, Alduin took a step back as the beautiful girl known as Gospel, her long white hair trailing down her back, appeared in between him and Odahving. As she opened her eyes, revealing them as purple little amethysts before quickly changing to the blue of sapphires, Gospel pointed an accusing finger towards the gawking red-haired Kishin.

"I am GOSPEL! And you, Odahving, are pathetic..."

"What?" Odahving could only watch as Gospel's outstretched arm turned into her shield. But then something changed in the next few moments. As it glowed in a brilliant aura of white, the shield now twisted and turned, wrapping around Gospel's arm. Pulling it back for what seemed like a punch, Gospel whispered under her breath, just audible enough for the wide-eyed Alduin to hear. "Save, Penance."

Shrrk! The aura was ripped off forcefully by an invisible hand, revealing the shield to have transformed into what looked like a large fingerless glove with a forearm guard. The intricate design on the glove was synonymous to that of Deadric armor, only that the fangs on the glove were much less sinister-looking and its pearly white color differed massively from the Daedra's usual dark palette. "What in the world..." Odahving spoke too soon.

BANGGG!

"Azura's NOVA!" Alduin watched in awe as Gospel's gloved fist, now coated in a white water-like coat, met the stomach of the caught-off-guard Odahving. "Ack!" Odahving coughed in aghast as a huge shockwave of power reverberated through him, eventually coming out from his back and smashing through the very air in a form of a shockwave, creating a wide arc of depression of the ground behind the boy. As the shockwave continued its violent tremors of the earth around them, Gospel's punching glove Penance dissipated into tiny particles of light, which eventually faded away.

As the energy disappeared, Gospel removed her fist from Odahving's stomach area and took a step back from him, her adversary still looking up in utter shock while a trail of blood now seeped down from his mouth. "I'm taking this back..." Gospel unclenched her hand, allowing the Lucifer's red collar to spread across her palm. "Gospel!" Alduin shouted ecstatically to the triumphant girl , who begun to walk back towards him like a lady boss whom had just done her sacking-employee rounds. Then Alduin saw that he cheered too soon. Behind the unexpectant Gospel, a large pouncing figure with a huge set of wings cast a shadow over her petite body. Before he could utter a clear warning, Gospel noticed the shadow towering over her and she turned her head, eyes widened in shock, just in time for Odahving to laugh hysterically at her in the face.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?" And a roundhouse kick was given straight into Gospel's face.

The speed at which Gospel flew was blinding. Alduin gasped in total horror as Gospel suddenly disappeared the second she was kicked. In the next second, CRASH! "ARGGGHG!" Alduin's jaw could have hit the floor when three houses 50 metres away suddenly collapsed as Gospel smashed right through them. As the first two were obliterated by her flying body intopieces of flying debris and remnants, the last one managed stop her flightpath, resulting in her crashing straight into the last remaining wall of the house. Then while she sat there, seemingly knocked out with her back against the wall, the wall begun to crack and then disintegrate under the huge force it had to counter. "GOSPEL!" Alduin shouted out to her as he begun to run to her fallen side, his mind begging that he hadn't just lost his second guardian.

As her body was about to fall without the support of the wall, Alduin caught it mid-fall and held Gospel in his arms. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. The white-haired girl's eyes were still open and within them was the typical shining sparkle of life. However, her pupils were twitching as if she was in great pain and that sparkle was fading out quick. In an attempt to move her, all he got was Gospel screaming as the unnerving moving of fractured bones could be heard. "Gospel, go back into your bracelet form again!" Alduin half-ordered, half-begged the girl. Suddenly her hand clasped with his. "What?" Alduin looked down, the sight of the red collar of Lucifer now in his hands leaving the black-haired fighter flabbergasted. "Gospel..." He whispered in a shaking voice. "Don' worry...," the girl assured him with a smooth hand to his face. "Lucifer's weapon is still with you. He will be proud if you were to use him even after his death. No, he will be honoured..." Gospel gave Alduin another one of her calming smiles, her body starting to emit an aurora of white light.

"So it seems like I just beat down your last weapon. How sad..." Odahving taunted Alduin, his bloody mouth giving intermittent bouts of laughter. From his view behind Alduin, Gospel seemed to be fading away into thin air, her body hidden away by Alduin's, but the light she gave out was now disappearing in front of him. He could only assume that she was gone as well. "So you are alone now, Alduin...Just like always...Huh?" Cloof. Odahving's words were cut off by the abrupt standing up of Alduin, the boy's shoes brushing against the ground. "No..." Alduin replied calmly as he took a half-step turn towards the silent Kishin. Raising his left arm in front of him such that the back of his hand is facing Odahving, on his wrist was the Gospel bracelet, the cross on it ringing in its high-pitch jingle.

"Kick his ass back to normal, will you, Alduin?" Alduin couldn't help but smile at Gospel's last words before she receded back into his mind. "Sure" was his reply.

**Background Music: B13A – A Bleach OST**

"What are you talking about?" Odahving questioned, Arondight steadied strongly in front of him. His levitating wings stretched out in full crescent wing-span, creating a rather menacing picture of a fragment of Chaos. But Alduin remained calm in the face of his opponent. "Watch me, Odahving..." Alduin grinned as his right hand let Lucifer's red collar hang down. In a flash, the collar burst into black electric flames. "What are you doing?" Odahving challenged but his heterochromic eyes looked on with mesmerized fervor.

"Judge,-" Alduin proclaimed as he let the burning collar drop towards the ground. Drip...Odahving gasped in astonishment as the collar sank into the ground, creating a pool-like ripple effect, the wave a black outline. Then he nearly jumped as a black blade suddenly rose up from the distorted ground, as if it had entered from another dimension. As Alduin watched the familiar claymore rise to about his height, he wound his fingers tightly around the jet-black hilt, the touch of the bandaged surface coming back to him. The draconic blade felt same like all those times: heavy but never too heavy. Closing his eyes in focus, Alduin attempted to communicate with Lucifer but the sad truth was still there. Lucifer was long gone. All he could hear in the blade was his own voice. No gruff stern one with a slight canine feel. This claymore isn't Lucifer, Alduin knew that, but it was his weapon. And with a new name as the dog tag waved about on the blunt end of the claymore's hilt.

"Day Star." Alduin calmly read the emblazoned golden words, as he steadied the dragon blade, clasping with his two hands. "I see..." Odahving murmured softly. Bringing Arondight up, he too pointed the unholy broadsword towards Alduin. As their unwavering eyes met the other's glare, each of their respective presence begun to grow, Odahving's chaotic darkness spewing out of his body in rapid streams, while Alduin's electrical black inferno now growing in a circle around him.

"The battle of our minds is over, Odahving! Time for us to take it to the next level!"

"I can't agree with you more. For once we agree on something!" Odahving showed his crazy smile, his mind probably already bathing in the thrill of battle. Alduin simply stared back with a dead-serious face.

"GO!"

**So the first part of the Resignation Letter Arc is done! Hope you like it and please review!**


	62. Odahving Chapter 15

For the entire time of their fight, Alduin had one simple thought within his mind.

Odahving was brutally strong.

Clang!

**Background song: Dragonborn, Skyrim Battle Theme**

Alduin gasped as he nearly lost his weakening grip on Day Star from the last cash, even needing to jump back from an eager follow-up by a laughing Odahving. The ground split under the heavy vertical cut of Arondight. Unlike the claymore Day Star, Arondight was much faster as a broadsword. Not only that, it was essentially two against one, Arondight and Odahving vs Alduin.

Alduin quickly ducked to avoid a one-handed diagonal upper slash of the blade. Then he raised his blade to block the incoming palm strike of Odahving's free hand. Again, Odahving's strength was massive, forcing Alduin to use both his hands, one on the hilt and the other on the side of Day Star, to even cushion the force. His arms shaking visibly under the power, Alduin barely had time to react as bright yellow-red fire begun to billow out from Odahving's opening mouth.

"YOL!"

As the Fire Breath crackled towards his surprised face, Alduin felt the hot air billow over him, causing perspiration on his forehead. "FUS!" Alduin shouted back, just in time for the flame to be pushed to the side, inches from burning his eyebrows off. "Got you!" Alduin gasped at Odahving's gleeful exclamation. It was too late to move. A solid kick by a black shoe connected with his stomach as Odahving burst through the covering stream of fire and smoke. "Not so tough now!" Odahving mocked on as his kick easily sent Alduin's body flying.

"Damn it!" Feeling the metallic taste of blood on his tongue, Alduin spun his body about to face towards the blurry ground zopming past him. As the air smacked into his face, he hurriedly jammed Day Star into the ground, making sure to hold on tight. Sure enough, his projectile of a body was stopped by the sudden hold of the entrenched claymore, Alduin deftly circling about using the hilt as a pivot before finally landing on the ground.

But there wasn't time to rest.

"TIL!" Alduin's sweaty forehead became furrowed by the widening of his understanding eyes. His mouth got only a few seconds to move momentarily before Odahving appeared in front of him in a blink of an eye. "T..TIL!" Alduin shouted in a frenzied rush, just in time to receive a punch coated in chaotic darkness with his own fist of black flames, electrical current surrounding the latter. BOOM! A shockwave rushed through the ground as the two punches cancelled each other out.

"Not bad..." Odahving showed a fleeting scowl. "You fail to disappoint...yet..."

"Wha?" Alduin hardly understood what Odahving meant by 'yet'. In a single beat of his energy wings, Odahving shot up a good distance above the aghast Alduin. The temporal distortion losing its effect, Alduin watched in silent wonder while Odahving raised Arondight skyward. "Run you idiot!" would be what Lucifer would snap in this sort of situation but Alduin was alone now.

"Eat this..." Odahving muttered antagonistically. SHINGGG! Alduin's eyes widened in shock at the shadows beginning to wrap collectively around the red-blade blade. Then as they condensed, they burst into a large solid shape of light, like that of a Bunsen Burner flame. The shape of the light was red in color, no, it was crimson. In the background, Alduin could hear the emitted soft sound of "Siiiiiiiiiiii", like a very vigorous flame . "Now would be a very good time to GET THE FUCK OUT!" would be Lucifer's words, minus the profanity. But Alduin can't run. Not now.

His grip around Day Star's hilt tightening, Alduin focused his Soul wavelength onto the claymore. In response, a translucent ball of Soul Focus pyro begun to form onto the thrusting tip of Day Star. As the two attacks were readied, a huge wave of turbulence flew erractically about them, pushing away clouds of sand and dust.

"CRIMSOM SPACE!" Odahving yelled at the top of his lungs as he thrust Arondight out.

"I DON'T NEED A NAME FOR THIS!" Alduin retorted back as he swung Day Star to behind his back, the flaming sphere now glowing like a miniature black sun.

BIEWWWW! A huge round beam of crimson energy shot straight out of Arondight, diving straight for Alduin. The beam was so dense, the very air seemed to be pierced by it. BOOM! As Alduin, gritting his teeth, diagonally slashed his blade, the sphere of raven-coloured flames was sent rocketing towards the nearing beam of red light.

CHIIIIIII! The two techniques collided, the black fire of IDNANFT licking against the pulsing energy of the beam. While the high-pitched sound caused by the collision rang through the air, shockwaves came out from between them in rapid succession, cutting through the atmosphere like a knife would with paper. After a brief push-of-war, as they finally destabilized, the two opposing attacks collapsed towards each other, combining into a single ball. BOOOOOOOOOOM! The ball disappeared as it gave off a huge fiery explosion, scattering smoke, dust and sand everywhere. Odahving brushed off the waves of force caused by explosion while Alduin covered his eyes to protect them from the dust.

"Tch." Odahving cursed as the smoke blinded him from Alduin, the latter disappearing the large mass of clouds. "Looks like I'll just need another one..." Odahving sighed, the shadows already beginning the process of regrouping on the sword. To his surprise, a loud angry voice snapped him out of his energy charging and Odahving turned to see Alduin shooting out of the clouds of ashen gray smoke, a ball of fire burning around his clenched fist.

"Shit!" Odahving's scarlet shoulder-length hair flew about in the pressure of the approaching fireball. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Alduin shouted as he sent off the ball towards an off-guard Odahving. "I'm not off-guard yet!" Odahving complained, his sword arm swinging Arondight in a vertical downward slash on the fireball.

The slash was clean, the sphere of consuming flames bisected into two by the invincible red-black blade, much to Alduin's surprise. "Neither was I surprised!" Alduin grinned as he twisted his fingers to give them a snap. "What are you-?" Odahving gasped as he realized both halves of fire had fallen to a position on either side of his body. "OR ELSE!" Alduin bellowed, his throat becoming horse from the continuous shouting. SNAP!

BOOM! As he descended to the ground, Alduin watched in triumph at the scene playing out. A look of horrification was on Odahving's face before his body, wings and all, were engulfed by the resulting twin half-sphere explosion. As streams of black fire swallowed Odahving in a big cocoon, Alduin grimaced at what seemed to be an ugly way to beat his friend.

"I hope he's okay..." Alduin looked on in concern as his feet landed back onto the ground, multiple miniature craters due to their fight around the area. As the expanding ball of huge black inferno continued its seemingly endless burning, Alduin allowed Day Star to rest on his shoulder while preparing to sit down and wait for the flames to burn out. He just hoped Odahving wasn't popcorn when it is done.

Then Odahving's voice resounded through the atmosphere. "DAMN YOU, ALDUIN!"

"Huh?" Alduin gasped at the sudden outcry from the within the swirling torrent of fire. Then a small geyser of chaotic darkness spurted out from one side of the fire sphere. Then in the next few seconds similar geysers of darkness begun to burst out of the sphere, while a battle-cry of Odahving's disembodied voice rushed through the air, starting from loud at first to thunderous. "Honorem! EBONY SPACE!"

In a final roar, the sphere of flames was dispersed into shreds by a violent black shockwave emitted by the powerful opening of Odahving's black wings. "Urghh..." Alduin grunted, straining to stand against the force, as the wave of black mashed through the ground, upturning stone and rubble into the air. And high up in it, Odahving floated with the subtle beating of his wings, a wide angry smile pasted on his face. "You think a pathetic attack like that would hold me, let alone beat me? You have disappointed after all."

"Tsk!" Alduin narrowed his eyes in frustration. "What's wrong? Out of ideas?" Odahving mocked condescendingly . "Well guess what, Alduin. I got a shout you would never be able to use."

"What? How can you-?"

"When I became a Kishin, I essentially replaced what was considered my Dragon soul with a Kishin one. And so this shout no longer backfires on me." Odahving's smile grew in size, literally becoming from ear to ear.

"Don't tell me..."

" Indeed! Take this." Odahving then breathed in deep. "Here's a present!" Arondight shouted in glee.

"JOOR!"

With that shout, a sudden black-red wave of translucent energy begun a head-long charge towards Alduin, his mouth agape in stunned wonder. His feet rooted to the ground by fear, Alduin could only stare on as the wave closed in.

At that instance memories of his last battle with the Dovahkiin, his fight for his life, now flashed across his mind, as the tendrils of madness within it screamed in horror at the impending shout. Paralysis ran through his body like a bloody virus, rooting his feet to the ground. Imaginary mountains seemed to be lying onto his shoulders, further impeding his ability to move. Day Star lay heavy in his hands, unable to be even swung to deflect the shout. Gospel's bracelet jingled in the wind given off by energy wave, its cross growing brighter than ever. "GET OUT OF THERE!" is what Lucifer would say.

But then again, Lucifer is gone.

Alduin's eyes widened, its night-black pupils shaking on the spot, as he watched what had been the most dangerous moment of his life.

Only Odahving's laughing voice could be heard over the roar of the wave. "It ends here, Alduin...ODAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

And somewhere in the distance, unnoticed by the two combatants, a tall dark being stood on a house's roof as he watched the battle, while a giant black coffin was attached to his back. "_Ikuzo_, Izanami."

Meanwhile, from beyond, both Chaos and Order suddenly seemed to come to attention. Their eyes narrowing in grim anticipation, their powerful resounding monsters of voices spoke angrily at the same time. "It seems like someone from another dimension is interfering. This could only mean one thing. Time is coming."

In the middle of the Death Room, a forgotten little hourglass is beginning to shake. And on its flawless glass surface, a tiny crack was beginning to form.

**Hope you like this! A lot of things happening in a few words. Please review and give your own theories on what is happening.**


	63. Odahving Chapter 16

"No! No!" Alduin screamed in terror as the blue wave washed over his entire body. As the wave traveled, it felt like a thousand needles had been pierced all around his body and then are pulled out again at the instant the wave left his body. As his mortality was reminded to him(the very feared effect of the Dragonrend), Alduin gritted his teeth in utter pain, pale-blue veins hardening and popping out on his arms and his neck while his tense body fell to its knees. "Ya...yaargh..." Alduin could hardly breathe, his vision blurring at every spike of excruciating pain. As the Dragonrend torment reached his brain, Alduin grabbed at his head, screaming at the top of his lungs as images of death and life's fleetingness appeared before his mental eyes. His heart beating like an engine on steroids, Alduin's eardrums continued to ring at the ear-piercing screams of the madness tendrils, who too were under the torturous rending of the shout.

As the whole scene played out, Odahving, still in the air, could not help but laugh spontaneously, his victory seemingly assured. While Alduin's body spasmed uncontrollably, Odahving proceeded to dive-bomb towards him, his wings forming a streamlined shape. Then with the butt of his sword, he brutally smacked the paralysed ex-god towards the ground. "Oof!" Alduin felt the wind pushed out of him, but a spat of pain numbed him further. Curling up into a protective fetal position, Alduin's wide eyes shook in fear at whatever image was being played in his mind and his arms wrapped around each other, shivering as if he was being left on the top of the mountains of Skyrim, chilling and remotely lonely.

"Downed like a dragon without his wings." Odahving smirked. Striding towards Alduin, whose trembling pupils slowly turned up to see him, Odahving gave a small giggle. "Like a god without his immortality." Odahving smacked his lips in blood thirst as he raised his foot to give the curled up Alduin a punishing kick.

"How's that?" Kick.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Kick.

"Pathetic as always!" Kick.

"Why don't you get up and give a better fight?" Kick.

Grab! "Huh?" Odahving grinned expectantly at what seemed to be Alduin's defiant hand grabbing at his offending leg. "Enough..." Alduin tried to raise his shaking head, much to Odahving's amusement.

"Enough?" Odahving scoffed at the 'retarded' idea, his free hand grabbing Alduin by the hair. "This arc is meant to last 5 chapters! It's not enough, you idiot! But for you..." "Ha!" As he barely gasped, Alduin's eyes widened painfully, becoming the size of golf-balls, as Odahving raised the glowing Arondight over his head for a death blow.

"Maybe it is the end for you." Odahving gave a crazy bout of laughter as the ground begun to shake under his massive presence. Clouds of darkness begun to billow out of the soil cracks, as a large black flame rose to the air. Alduin felt his bloody teeth chatter uncontrollably at the sight of the familiar technique. "Watch this." Odahving gave a sideway grin.

"UNDEFINED-!"

**Music: Trust Me by Yuya Matsushi**

I really wanna be with you  
>I really wanna really wanna be with you<br>coz you my love (love), you my shine (shine)  
>your my dear, so trust me trust me, trust me, yeah<p>

"What?" Odahving turned to hear the sudden appearing song more clearly but by then he noticed too late. As if it had just rose from the trembling ground, a lavender purple tornado made up of what seemed to be very loud sound appeared behind the unnoticing Odahving. "What the-?" Alduin was cut off as a torrent of sound drowned out his painfully wavering voice. And over the harmony, what sounded like a multitude of voices said something in tandem.

"S-S-S-SONIC!" "Huh?-urrrrghhhhh!" Odahving's voice could be heard grunting loudly as he suddenly disappeared from Alduin's blurry view. Something extremely fast had just charged straight into him. Then within the next few seconds, Alduin barely got himself up before he felt invisible hands wrap around the sides of his aching head. At that moment a very familiar sound seemed to play at his ears and instantly Alduin felt his head clear again again. BOOM! Over the pink waves of sound, Alduin saw debris fly into the air as the flying Odahving crashed into a demolished structure some distance away.

"Who...?" Alduin didn't get a chance to ask as the waves begun to converge, singing the song again and again as they begun to meld into one. Combined, Alduin's eyes widened at what seemed to be the body of a girl about his height, her features blocked out by the purple typhoon-like aurora still reciting its song. Then a pair of green headphones suddenly protruded out of the aura, lying at what Alduin could guess to be the sound-girl's neck. And these were very familiar headphones.

Im here, soba ni iru kara  
>Call me, boku ga iru kara<br>Trust me, mou nani mou osorenaide  
>My dear, mienai itou de<br>Trust me, tsunagatte iru kara  
>Tada kanjitte iite kono nukumori<p>

"Cyril?" Alduin gasped in surprise but the girl didn't respond, as if she couldn't hear him. Her sound-covered hands reaching for her headphones, the DJ girl placed them back on what was supposed to be their rightful place: around her ears. Instantaneously, the aurora of sound dispersed into nothing, revealing underneath the blonde girl in her orange turtle-neck and green baggy jeans, a concerned expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Cyril...how did you...?" Alduin was once again interrupted by a sudden roar from behind Cyril. "ARRGHHHH! YOU IMPUDENT GIRL!" Cyril spun her body around, her forehead furrowed at the rising Odahving, whom was using Arondight as support while his hetero-eyes burned in fury. "You are noisy..." Cyril muttered under her breath as she clenched her glowing fist. Then with that fist, she punched the air. Shoom! While not as loud as last time, a single music note of sound wave rang through the air, hurtling straight for Odahving. "Ooofff!" Odahving disappeared once again into the rubble, his body pushed away by the sonic punch.

"Cyril...what are you?" Alduin's eyes widened at the feat. Finally hearing him, Cyril turned to him. "I'm an Unusual. That's what I am." Cyril beamed him a proud smile as she rose up, turning to face where Odahving last disappeared into the rubble. "Stay here. I'll take care of your friend." Alduin gasped in horror at what looked like a girl going on a suicidal fight.

"No! You can't!" Alduin tried to grab for Cyril's hand in an attempt to stop. Then to his surprise, his own hand simply phased through hers, as the latter is engulfed once again in the lavender sonic aura. And then he noticed that Cyril's headphones were once again off her ears. "Cyril, wait!" He shouted to her but she didn't to hear him, as her song played once again.

Chanto kikoette iru  
>Kimi no kokoro no koe<br>Chiisa na fuan sae  
>Boku ga tsumitotte ageru<p>

"ODAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..."

**Meanwhile...**

As the previously-mentioned dark being strolled through the alley, his coffin smacked against his back, but he didn't mind. Making sure to avoid the light, the being continued on towards his goal: the battle scene. He then made a turn around the next corner.

And when the end of the alleyway came into view, the cloaked being halted, his thick combat boots plodding against the damp ground, as one of them splashed against a puddle of water. His coffin shook on his back, its bloodthirstiness leading it to detect the one who was blocking their way. And who was it?

As his Abraxas-inspired cloak flew in the morning breeze, Xeal Dragomir stood at the entrance of the alleyway, his body positioned such that he was standing sideways to the silent being. "Did you really think that we wouldn't know what happens in Death City?" Xeal smirked as he turned to face the being, who stood a good few metres away. "I'm really pissed off right now after getting thrown by a certain Alduin so let's make this quick. Who are you? What do you want?"

The mysterious being didn't answer. "Giving me the quiet treatment, huh? How disrespectful people get!" Xeal sighed as he felt his temper rise, an anger mark forming on his forehead. His left arm, uncovered by the sideway cloak, began to glow. Right on cue.

"Well I guess, I'll have to do this the hard way..." Xeal sighed even louder, as if he was going to loathe having to fight the being. As he moved his silver glowing arm such that it was parallel to his body, his smile, under the shadow made by his hood, was now visible to the unmoved being.

"Here's a neat trick for you. Say hello to my little friend..." Speaking in his exaggerated Cuban accent, Xeal smirked even wider.

His right arm then grabbed the wrist of his readied glowing left one, then it begun to pull. Slowly but surely, the pulled arm begun to transmute as it detached from Xeal's shoulder and within seconds, his lone right arm now held a runed greatsword, its silver surface etched with glowing encryptions and signs. However its blade was unlike any normal great sword, suddenly ending off in a flat end, as if it had been cut in half. Even then, the sword was massive to be used for one hand, the blade large enough to reach Xeal's shoulder.

As he waved it about for a warm-up, waves of air blew through the alley, resulting in the watching being's black trench coat to fly about in the disturbed air. Its face hidden in the shadows, the being seemed unwavering in the face of strength. "Now then, draw your blade!" Xeal shouted in readied battle fury, visibly unburdened by the lacking of an arm. "You will a good substitute for Alduin!"

"Doshite..."

"Huh?" Xeal was suddenly taken off guard by the being's unrecognizable language.

"Ikuzo, Izanagi..." "What?" Xeal gasped in surprise as the coffin's door suddenly flew open. In blinding speeds, Xeal could barely register the two-handed sword shooting out of the coffin and into the air. Raising his gauntlet hand into the air, the being grabbed the silver-black blade from its fall, its length easily dwarfing the 1.8m being himself. However, the blade seemed old and worn out, even chipped to some parts of it. Xeal grimaced in disgust at what looked like an ill-maintained blade. Then as he brought it down to the ground, the being created so much force that a shockwave shook through the alleyway, prompting walls to crack in its wake. Xeal narrowed his eyes at the sight.

As it readied a casual stance, the being's dark and rich voice came out, its sound amplified by the surrounding alley walls. "Watashi wa no namae Thanatos desu...Sore wa da re desu?"

"I'm sorry, buddy. But Japanese just made onto my top ten list of objects to destroy." Xeal smiled. In response, the being seemed to be sighing in disappointment. "Gomenasai..."

And the two begun to fight.

**Back at the battle...**

"Urgh!" Odahving gritted his teeth in pain as he was given another charge by the sound body of Cyril. "Why you!" Odahving roared, swiping his sword at her. But the blade simply passes through the intangible medium. His shouts of Time Slow have been ineffective due to Cyril's incredible speed. Already she was behind him unnoticed again and her multi-voice could be heard shouting. "Sonar!"

"Shit!" Odahving barely ducked a dense thin blade of sound zooming for his head. As the torrents of purple sound waves continued their assault, Odahving could feel his arms beginning to grow tired at swining his sword at what looked like an untouchable opponent. Then he spotted where he wanted to attack.

"I see!" Odahving hooted in glee as the waves converged back into the aura-covered girl, who seemed to be trying to catch her breath. And even better, she didn't seem to be able to hear him coming. "Tired already?" Odahving pounced on her, his sword raised for a strike. The girl gasped in shock, her body still unable to go back into her soundwave form.

Her purple arm moving out, Odahving cringed at the DJ girl's arm suddenly extending a much weaker version of Sonar, just enough to move Arondight away from her face. "Sonic!" She proclaimed next as she begun to disperse once again.

"Damn!" Odahving felt the waves charge straight into his unprotected stomach. Bang! He bounced against the now crater-filled ground as he flew from the force. Then in the next second, the tornado appeared below his mid-air body, only to kick him straight up into the air. All this while, her melodious song continued to play on.

"Take this!" Cyril growled, her lavender typhoon of sound zooming to Odahving's top. Then to his shock, she swiftly dispersed in the next split-second. "Huh?" Odahving frowned, turning his head desperately to look for her. He begun to beat his crescent wings in order to stabilize his body. But he didn't need to. Suddenly, six swirling individual purple mini-cyclones formed around him in a hexagonal formation. And even higher up above his flying body, Cyril's swan-like body, leaving waves of sound behind her, divebombed towards him.

"Shit!" Odahving cursed.

"Rhythm!"

As she smacked into him, the other six cyclones converged upon him. As sound wave after sound wave engulfed him, they begun to accumulate with each other, causing a roaring cacophony of sound as a dense cloud of purple formed, tightening around its screaming captive. Then, as Cyril reappeared back on the ground beside the gawking Alduin, back in her girl form, a loud resounding BOOM could be heard shooting through the air. Above the duo, the condensed cloud exploded, obliterating whatever was within. Hopefully.

"No way...she was fast..." Alduin's jaw dropped at Cyril's incredible combat prowess, while the girl recovered back into a standing position, her purple aurora shredding off as she replaced her headphones back on. "What did you say?" Cyril looked blankly at Alduin, seeming to have missed his words. "That was amazing..." "Thanks..." Cyril smiled at the compliment, as Alduin finally managed to find the energy to stand up, with Day Star being used for support.

Swoosh! Out of nowhere a menacing hand grabbed the surprised Cyril at the neck. "Gahh!" Cyril choked in terrified amazement under the iron grip of the smiling Odahving, whose body now seemed battered by the attack, his wings even missing pieces of its original energy structure. "You are indeed a stupid girl. A stupid strong girl." Odahving grinned as he held Cyril at his mercy. "Stop that, Odahving!" Alduin yelled as he swung Day Star at the threatening Kishin.

Bang! "Argh!" Alduin panted as his weak attack was deflected by a casual swing of Arondight and Day Star was ripped out of his grasp. "Alduin...!" Cyril fought for air as Odahving's grip tightened around her petite neck, her arms struggling to reach for her headphones. "You think your rambunctious noise would stop me? You are sadly mistaken!" Odahving grinned maniacally as he pressed Arondight's tip against her flailing chest. "Now die!"

At that instant, by a stroke of fate, the lime-green headphones fell off her ears. In the widened eyes of Alduin, he gawked in shock at Cyril's seemingly dimunitive purple soul, with a pair of ethereal green headphones around it, suddenly beginning to expand. And then scream in a very familiar way.

"Screeching Soul Resonance!"

**Done! Yes, the Resignation Letter had reached its near-end point. Do be ready for more updates and also do review!**


	64. Odahving Chapter 17

YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Impossible-!" Odahving gasped, his eyes wide in recognition, as a turbulent high-pitched scream rang through the entire battlefield. It was so loud, he could even see the very translucent soundwaves cutting through the air. And its source, the little blonde girl he used to be strangling by the throat, had become engulfed in the same annoying purple aura of sound. Within a blink of his hetero-eyes, Cyril suddenly expanded into a huge tornado of swirling purple soundwaves, easily dwarfing him as it intangibly slipped out of his strangling hold.

There was only one other group who could make that kind of screeching sound, making his ear-drums shake painfully in his ears.

Crona and Ragnorok. The Screeching Death Scythe duo.

"I see..." Odahving gritted his teeth in familiarity-induced disgust. Taking a step back away from the growing sound tornado, Odahving gazed at it with both awe and caution, raising Arondight towards his opponent. "So you got personal training! Let's see how much more powerful you are now..."

Zroom. Before he could even register it, the tornado suddenly appeared behind him, his senses overwhelmed by its blinding speed. "Shit!" Odahving spun his comparatively sluggish body around, only to be sent flying by what seemed to be a swirling soundwave of bitch-slap. As he skidded back onto his feet, Odahving's eyes widened in shock as the tornado appeared before him, before being sent flying once again by a sonic blade cutting him through the torso. His blood, red along with taints of black, spurted into the air as a heavy gash is slashed where the blade touched.

As he once again found his footing back on the cracked ground, the red-head gazed antagonistically at the swirling tornado of sound, the piercing scream being mixed with the now garbled song. Then a spurt of blood from the gash finally got his attention. He stared at it nonchalantly, his free hand even touching against the seemingly deep wound. The notion of being injured didn't seem to be what he expected. As he pulled back his bloody hand, he gave the liquid a quick lick. "I assume you can't hear me right now..." Odahving grinned as he picked himself up from his kneeling position. "But I'm sure you might be disgusted by what I just did."

If there was any response, Cyril the cyclone of sound didn't give a hint. Instead, the female mass of purple music seemed to be taking her time, allowing Odahving to continue.

"From what I gathered from our fight, you can only transform to your full form for around 10 seconds, then it took another 5 for you to recharge. But right now, with your resonance, I can throw away that limitation right?" Again, no response.

"Silence is golden, huh? Foolish girl, you might act cool by being a silent type, but let me assure you." Odahving then raised Arondight in front of his face in a prayer stance. Suddenly, to the surprise of the watching Alduin, Odahving's wings begun to heal, the broken fragments coming back to reunite with the main structure. Furthermore, the injury across his torso was beginning to close up, though a bit of cringing on Odahving's side. Then his ghostly voice came out, now more serious and now sinister.

"When I am done with you, you will regret not begging at my knees."

ZWOOOSH! Cyril's cloud form suddenly disappeared once again. Watching this, Alduin fully expected her to appear beside Odahving and knock him away. However, he was only partially correct. CHINK! A multi-voiced gasp could be heard from Cyril when she struck at Odahving from behind, only for the Kishin to casually position Arondight behind his back. And by some unknown twist of fate, the red-black sword managed to collide with Cyril's intangible sound-form. Turning his head to glare at the aghast girl/cloud, Odahving sported a wide expectant smirk. "How did he manage to block her?" Alduin thought out-loud, his mind unable to comprehend what had just taken place.

Turning his dark body around to face his adversary, Odahving gave a stare that spelled "I told you so". "Confused?" Odahving asked the obvious. Then his finger gave a gesture towards Arondight, asking Cyril to look. Almost immediately Cyril gave out a loud gasp. "Huh?" Alduin, interested in what just happened, took a glance at where Odahving was pointing. What he saw prompted him to gasp in total shock, with his hand to his mouth.

Arondight looked like typical Arondight, a normal red exquisite broadsword with black cutting-edges. However, the two small chains on the blade's heart-shaped hilt were now glowing black with a tint of surrounding white. They were also thinning, albeit very slowly. Not only that, something was covering the blade like a sheath. Alduin didn't know how to describe it. It was like a sparkling wave of disturbance surrounding the large blade. It seemed that the very space around it was being distorted, forming a miniature spatial border between the external area and the blade. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Odahving blinked his hetero-eyes. And then when he opened them, Alduin suddenly noticed that the right eye's black-hole pupil was spinning.

"What you just witnessed was spatial manipulation. A power that Chaos has bestowed upon me. I have the ability to 'pull' anything with space." Odahving explained proudly, as he pushed Cyril's cloud-form back some good distance away from him. The girl-cloud, her form skidding against the ground to regain her balance, stayed where she landed and stared on at the speaking Odahving. "Of course, it has its limitations." Odahving cracked his free knuckle, practicing his strength. "But at least it has enough power to 'pull' your intangibility away."

Cyril didn't respond. "Oh wait a minute, you can't hear me right?" Odahving cracked up, mocking her deafness. Alduin felt anger well up in him that he would mock her at such a level. But then again, Cyril can't hear him, the girl showing no signs of anger or taking of offense. "Don't give her that sort of bullshit!" Alduin yelled indignantly. In swift response Odahving pointed Arondight his way. "Quiet, Alduin. You have no part in this fight." Odahving took an interested look at Arondight's hilt. "Ah...it's almost done..."

"What do you mean?"

Odahving grinned mysteriously, as he twirled Arondight in his sword hand. "Guess you can't understand what I was referring to. You see, Alduin. I haven't actually been fighting on equal terms with you. You can say that I was handicapped."

"Handicapped?" Alduin felt beads of sweat form on his forehead in horrified disbelief.

"I wasn't actually at full synchronization with Mr. Arondight over here. In other words, I wasn't set at the optimal settings. Hence, I had to limit the amount of power I could pull out of him. But now..."

Snap! Alduin's jaw dropped as the two miniature metal chains on the hilt broken into several pieces and then their fallen fragments chinked against the ground. Odahving smiled wider than ever, his eyes now crazy and his air of seriousness replaced with an air of triumph. Alduin knew at that moment, things are going to get worse.

"It's about to get fun!" BOOMMM! All of a sudden, a torrent of black energy swirls begun to shoot out of Arondight, coating the blade in a translucent surging sheath of black energy. "Yes!" Odahving hooted as he faced towards Cyril, who now seemed to understand what was going on. "YEAH!" Her voice shouting a battle-cry, the mass of sound zoomed towards the expectant Odahving. Yet he didn't seem to care to raise his now powered-up blade, much to Alduin's astonishment. "Wait!" Alduin tried to gesture to Cyril but she didn't seem to notice in her impatience to attack.

And then Odahving dispersed into little black lights, like little mini fireflies that then disappeared into thin air.

"What?" Cyril gawked, but not in time for a sudden fast-moving Odahving to knock her in the back with his blade. "ARRGHHH!" Cyril screamed in pain as she was forcibly reformed back into her sound-girl form and sent flying over the ground, before skipping over it like a stone on water. Finally she landed with a tremendous impact, creating one more of many craters in the area. "Cyril!" Alduin yelled but she couldn't hear him.

"I suspected that you were faster when you resonated, Cyril Yiuta. 10 times to be exact. Mach 10. 3000 m/s. An incredible speed, I must admit." Odahving laughing powerful voice could be heard over the thunderous noise generated by his mass of chaotic darkness. "But what is the speed of darkness?"

"D-darkness?" Alduin stammered, confounded by the question.

"How about the speed of light? When light leaves, darkness covers up just as fast. Therefore, theoretically, darkness moves at the speed of **299 792 458 m / s. **Over a million times faster than you can ever achieve." "No way..." Alduin's jaw dropped to the ground. And at the same time, Odahving's body swayed from side to side, as if he was in a drunken stupor. But the crazy expressions on his face told otherwise. Another technique was coming.

"Watch this. SHREDDING SPACE." Odahving grinned as he suddenly dispersed into balls of dark light again. And right then, Alduin realised that they were actually looking at his after-image. Left by his unworldly speed.

Shink! Alduin barely knew that his cheek had been grazed by Arondight, a trickle of blood dripping down his face. "Huh?" Alduin was shocked when the ground beside him was suddenly cut by an invisible blade. Then the house nearby. And then a rock some distance away. Soon, a massive number of successive seemingly random slashes seemed to cut everywhere around him. Rocks, sand, debris flew into the air, before being bisected by the speeding assailant. And then finally, Cyril, still trying to get up from her fall, was next.

Shink! "Yaargh!" Cyril screamed at the top of her ethereal voice, as her chest was suddenly slashed by the invisible blade. Grabbing Day Star, Alduin tried to get to her side. "Cyril!" Alduin shouted to her but she couldn't hear him. As he was just about to reach her fallen body, Alduin was pulled away out of nowhere. Before he could even understand what was happening, Alduin was smashed against a wall and Odahving materialized in front of him, his arm pinning the boy against the cracking wall.

"Seems like I'm still not fully optimized with my powers yet." Odahving sighed in disappointment at the carnage he had caused. Houses were cut down to pieces like paper and slash and stab marks were in the ground, making it unstable and even creating several deep holes.

Yet Alduin could see that Odahving had expected more. "I was moving too fast to see where I was slashing. But I'll get used to that later..." Odahving gave a maniac's smile and then disrespectfully spat into Alduin's grimacing face. The spit stung against the fresh graze on his now bloody cheek, making Alduin's eyes briefly clench in pain.

"Leave her alone..." Alduin hissed at Oahving but then Arondight was on his forehead, its sharp spatial tip pressing against his skin. With barely contained rage, Odahving retorted back. "Don't tell me what to do, Alduin! You have your chance as a leader! Now it is my turn to be the leader of a new universe! It's over, Alduin! You are defeated!"

With a wrathful roar, Odahving threw Alduin over his shoulder, onto the ground beside the gasping Cyril, the latter still in her now stationary cloud form. As he grunted in pain on impact, Alduin quickly noticed a glint of darkness and rolled out of the way of a stab of Arondight, its owner's ride predatory eyes staring at him with murderous intent.

"Why won't you stay still and accept your fate?" Odahving's after-image dispersed once again and in a surprised eye's blink, Alduin found Arondight stabbed on the other side of his body. "Damn it!" Odahving gritted his teeth in his miss, raising the pulled-out Arondight over his head to bring it down on Alduin, now trapped in the middle. Alduin looked back defiantly, as if taunting him to make the shot. "Die already!" Odahving roared at the top of his hoarse voice.

"No! I won't let you!" And the air begun to pick up.

All of a sudden, 60 purple cyclones of sound surrounded the surprised Odahving, as the now girl-form Cyril, orange turtle-neck and all, recovered back up, her walk unsteady but still going strong. "What-Urrgh?" Occupied by the cyclones, Odahving was caught off-guard by the blade-whack of Alduin's Day Star, as the black-haired boy hurriedly pulled himself out of Cyril's incoming attack. "Do it!" he mouthed to her, which she returned with a affirmative nod.

"Rhythm Overload!" Cyril commanded and at her word, the 60 cyclones converged once again onto the stumbling Odahving, determined to engulf and crush him once again. "Is that it?" Odahving roared, clearly unimpressed, as his crescent black wings begun to fold around him, pulsing with black energy. "EBONY SPACE!"

BOOOM! In a flash of black light, the cyclones were dissipated by the roaring jet-black protection wave, now even more powerful than Alduin last remembered, as it ripped through the swirling masses of sound and upturned the ground it touched before the male's shocked night-black eyes. As it approached the duo, Alduin gawked even more when Cyril begun to walk towards Odahving. Right into the path of the hurtling shockwave.

"Cyril, what are you-?" But he didn't have time to ask.

All of sudden an orchestra began to play. And then on Cyril's extended finger, was a dense coating of purple soundwaves, playing out the intense melody of the orchestra. As the shockwave came to swallow her, Cyril pointed her glowing finger towards it. And Alduin noticed her headphones were still off. She was still in her full form.

"Gakudan!" With that proclamation, Cyril thrust her finger out, right into the wave of force. And like a finger poking into the calm waters of a lake, a ripple effect propagated out through the black wave, the latter halted in its tracks.

And then the beam appeared.

The beam didn't just engulf the Ebony Space attack, but also the stupefied Odahving. "What the-?" He barely had time to even whisper before a huge thunderous orchestra at its last playing drowned out his voice. And the purple beam shot skyward into the air, parting even the black clouds called forth by the Kishin. In its rise, the ground and then the air trembled. As the beam continued to stand, the lack of a ear-rumbling roar or a wave of "BOOM" was easily noticed. Instead, the orchestra was playing on its epic finale and soon an overwhelming standing ovation of what sounded like millions of people, clapping and cheering at the perfect performance of the choir, could be heard. Alduin's eyes glinted in the purple might of the beam of sound, admiring its power and also music. Then he was suddenly snapped back into reality Cyril suddenly begun to fall. "Cyril!" He whispered in concern, his voice the volume of a mouse in the song's roar, as he grabbed the girl by the body and setting her down onto the ground slowly and safely. She looked up at him with exhausted emerald eyes and a tired smile, her arms limp at her side and her legs wobbling. When she tried to speak, her voice was swallowed in the melody of her attack too. In response Alduin, with a grateful smile, placed a finger against her succulent lips, his eyes giving her a "Thank you".

"ODAHAHAHAHAHA! PLOT SHIELD, YOU SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF BITCHES!"

"What?" His irises shaking at the sound of his nemesis' voice, Alduin hurriedly grabbed Day Star and turned to face the beam. That moment, his eyes widened in shock at what looked like the beam beginning to collapse. Cyril too tried to gasp but her voice didn't have the energy to even speak. Alduin's eyes, sharp like a dragon, narrowed at what could only be the source of the collapse. And then they grew to the size of tea plates, in recognition of the weapon being used.

Right before his astounded eyes, the Ebony Blade pierced through the layers of the beam, as the purple-coloured energy was absorbed into the black ebony-based sword. The forbidden blade, the katana that cuts down even one's love, was leeching power away once again.

Within a matter of seconds, the powerful tower of sound was now an empty husk of its former self and then it shattered like glass, the fragments dissipating as it fell through the air. And totally unharmed and with a huge trolling smile on his face, Odahving stood with an air of mocking amusement. "Bet Captain Aizen can't even troll as much as I can!"

Then he gave his blades a wave. Yes, you heard it right. Blades. In his right normal sword hand, the cloud-covered Arondight glowed with even more fervour and energy. And in his left 'free' hand, the Ebony Blade seemed to have a huge meal, its ebony surface shinier than Alduin has ever seen it before in his life as a god.

"I think I forgot to tell you. You see, when I pull power out of Arondight, I needed something to refuel it. A sort of absorber. I wasn't supposed to use one sword."

Crossing the swords in front of him, Odahving smirked at the sight of now dumbfounded Alduin, who was actually still standing up in the face of yours truly.

"I use two." And then Odahving dispersed into black light.

"What?"It was too late.

Shink! Alduin couldn't even feel the pain. At that fateful moment, time willingly came to a crawl for him. As he looked down, he could see the Ebony Blade pierced through his chest, driven through his body from behind. Blood spilling out of his wound like a river. Alduin's breath became shallow and fast, following his own heartrate. His eyelids flickered in a sudden wash of exhaustion over him. He couldn't feel Day Star in his hands, his sense of touch numb.

Shirk! As the triumphant Odahving behind him pulled the menace of a sword out of Alduin's chest, Alduin, blood spurting out of his injury, stumbled forward for a while, his hold on Day Star holding him up. Then as his body finally gave in, the defeated ex-god fell over. His head, now clearer than ever, turned just in time to see Cyril screaming at him. Though he couldn't hear her voice with his blocked out ears, he knew what she was screaming. And that drove the knowledge, that he had lost, deeper into his darkening mind. Maybe he was going to see his old man again.

"ALDUIN!"

**Whoo! End of the Resignation Letter Arc! Don't worry kids, Alduin isn't dead yet! But that was tiring, trying to write four chapters of violence and fighting. Guess I'll need to take a break. And so next up: Snippets of Randomness Episode 2: Spin The Bottles and Let's Have Some Couples!**


	65. Snippets of Randomess Ep 2 Part 1

**Snippet of Randomess Ep 2: Spin the Bottles and Let there be Couples! Part 1**

"What the hell? Get back here, A.D!" BOOM!

It was a typical normal day. Alduin is chasing me down like a blood-thirsty hound. Excalibur is continually singing behind him. Not helping, holy sword! Maka and Soul both looked on from the dining table, both sweat dropping. Thanks you spectators! Cyril giggled at the sight as she practiced her DJ skills. Speaking of DJ, I had a hole burned in my pockets just so that she can have a DJ machine just for her. Though her music is indeed good...

Anyway...

BOOOM! As a cardboard box flew over my head, I gawked behind me at the very frightening sight of a roaring Alduin, who was simulataneously wielding Day Star in one hand and throwing anything he could get his other hand on. "How can you make me die like that?" That's the reason he is so angry.

"I told you already! You aren't dead yet...Wha!" As I realized that I had tripped, my face hit the smooth ceramic floor and I spun around just in time for a familiar blade to be embedded right beside my head. "Change your update right now!" Alduin spat spittle antagonistically in my face. Truth to be told, when you have an ex-god breathing down your neck, you feel like you should just do what he say. But not for me.

"I'm a proud FANFICTIONIST! I WILL NEVER BE SILENCED...urgh!" Wrong answer. Before I knew it, I was given a slap with the side of Day Star and my body spun uncontrollably in the air as I fell to the ground. The wind knocked out of me, my eyes widened in shock at the raised claymore now about to come down onto my exposed head. "Wait! Wait! I could really dieeeeeee!" But my screams were to no avail, as my eyes shut in preparation of the approaching blade.

Bang! "Huh?" my eyes shot open, surprised at the fact I wasn't dead yet. There, inches from my face, was Day Star clashing with a runed flat greatsword, shining silver in the lights of my house. As I looked down the flat-pointed blade, I gasped at the sight of the cloaked silver-haired boy. His piercing blue eyes stared daggers back at Alduin, who returned the look with his night-black pupils. From the side, I could feel Cyril sighing, as if it was just another one of the rival fight again. "Xeal!" I shouted in glee at my savior. Then the silver greatsword was pressed against the tip of my nose. "What the?" I looked up him with a questioning glance but instead he gave me a death-stare.

"He's not yours to kill, Alduin..."

"EEHHHHH?"

**Ten minutes later, **

"YAAAAARGHHHHH!" I ran and ran as fast as I can, but I wasn't the Gingerbread. When you have two bloodthirsty characters chasing you down, you don't really have many places in a house to run to.

"Got you!" Before I knew it, I was caught by the collar of my shirt. Exaggerated beads of perspiration dribbled down my head as I looked timidly at the two beasts towering over me with wide grins of violence. "Why the hell did you let me get thrown by the likes of him?" Xeal pointed towards Alduin with an accusing finger, the latter batting it away with his hand. "Don't point at me!" "Oh? You want to fight, son of a bitch?" "Bring it on!"

Watching this argument potentially ending with the destruction of my house, I had to intervene. "Hey wait guys! Don't fight with each other!" Then I realized I had once again chose the wrong thing to say as the two suddenly diverted their attention towards me and anger marks spontaneously appeared on their head. "Oh shit..." I mentally cursed my tongue.

Just as the two were about to pounce onto me with murderous intent, a sudden life-saving howl of joy came from the kitchen. "YAHHHOOOOO! BOW DOWN TO ME, INFIDELS!" Out of the kitchen, Black Star, his face flushed red, stumbled out of the kitchen, his hands holding on to some beer bottles. "Black Star! You are too young to drink alcohol." Tsubaki was chasing his sluggish body. As he drunkedly punched the wall, I screamed as a huge dent was smacked right into it. "There goes my pocket money..."

"Why do I look so unsymmetrical?" Following along, a bottle in his hand being used as a mirror, Death the Kid Caterpillar crawled out, with a laughing Patty and a sighing Liz. The boy had been so stunned by his obsession with symmetry, that his body had lost the energy to even walk. "I'm a fraud, a fake, a disappointment! I, such unsymmetrical dirt, must find some unsymmetrical hole to fit in!"

As the two jokers ranted about, I stared nervously at the distracted Xeal and Alduin, their talons still on me. I got to find some way to save myself. Then my eyes set onto the bottles Black Star were holding. "Lightbulb..."

With swift life-or-death-spurred reflexes, I rushed towards Black Star, dodged a careless hand swipe which no doubt would have smashed my face in and ripped the bottles out of his hand. "Huh?" Alduin and Xeal's eyes widened in realization and sure enough, they were right onto me! Raising the two bottles in the air as if to protect my face in vain, I spoke as fast as I could, my mouth spurting words like a machine gun on Rambo-mode.

"Let's have a spin the bottles game! You know one of those fun games where we spin the bottle and then make the person chosen do something embarrassing! And since I'm sort of lacking in couples, I think we should use two bottles and then make the two chosen do something together!" But it didn't seem to work as Alduin and Xeal were still charging at me, each alpha male ready to crumble me like paper and throw me into a rubbish bin. Then a little bracelet on Alduin's left wrist begun to glow. Right on cue...

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!" The ever cheerful Gospel, her white hair framing her face beautifully, suddenly appeared out of the bracelet, much to Alduin's dropping jaw. And then as she extended her arms in glee, my two opponents were pushed away by her massive Penance glove-enhanced strength and each of the boys flew into a wall, grunting in surprise and pain.

"Oh man, Gospel! You just saved the future of the series!" I was just about to hug the 13-year-old-looking girl but she suddenly interjected. "So are we going to begin or what?" Almost immediately, I knew I was in deep shit. If I said no, I was going to be in a lot of pain. To be truthful, that whole spin the bottles thing was something just made up by me to bait her out and save my sorry narcissistic ass.

As she looked on at me with those cut kitten-like colour-changing eyes, I couldn't say no. And even if I could resist her cuteness, saying no will be a death sentence to me. "Uh...ok..."was all I could stammer out before Gospel suddenly gestured to everyone in my house right now. Within seconds, I gawked in utter amazement as everyone sat around in a circle in my bedroom, the two bottles placed between us. I looked on at our participants. Cyril, Xeal, Akira, who had been sleeping at one side a moment ago, Alduin, Gospel, Maka, Soul, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star, now somber thanks to Cyril, Tsubaki and finally me... Hey wait a second!

"WHY AM I IN THE GAME TOO? I'M NOT EVEN IN THE FANFIC!"

"Just to make things more fun, silly!" Gospel explained with a little-contained giggle. "Why are we doing this for?" Xeal, lone wolf as always, complained. Cyril looked around at everyone frantically, looking scared to be coupled with anyone. Akira, with an oily screwdriver in his hand, was more interested in his motorcycle/himself than in the game. Soul was glancing nervously at the unaware Maka, who was bookworming as usual, and I instantly knew what he was hoping for. Tsubaki was more cautious, though her interest in the half-bored Black Star was still noticeable. Liz and Patty were already dead-set on each other as a sister couple while Kid had somehow placed a picture of a symmetrical version of himself beside him. I nearly gagged at that scene. And finally Alduin. The ex-god was mysterious as always. Not really showing who he was really interested in. His eyes flitted about, first at the smiling Gospel, then the fidgeting Cyril and finally the bookworm Maka. Undecided.

Suddenly, the door ring rang. Someone had arrived. "I need to get it..." Seeing this as an opportunity to escape, I hurriedly left the room before Gospel could call me back. My hand grabbing onto the door knob, I hoped that Spirit wasn't the visitor. Else, all the girls will run away. If it was Blair, all the boys will nosebleed to death. And if it was Kami...I shivered at the thought.

Clack! As the mahogany door opened, the electronic lock system unlocking, I carefully gazed out to whoever was standing in front of me. And to my surprise, it was not Blair, Spirit, nor Kami visiting. Instead, a weak-looking very slender boy with electric blue hair, shaped such that it covered his bloodshot eyes with red iris, each with a white cross as the pupil. The boy was deathly pale, his tired-looking eyes opened in half-slits and his face expressionless, as if he didn't want to move his facial muscles. His garb was loosely fitted and seemed to be too big for him. Then I realized that he was actually too thin for them, his body seemingly skeletal. As he slowly, maybe even painfully, raised his head, I noticed the numbers "666" stamped over his pencil-thin eyebrows. Giving him another look, I noticed that the same numbers were on the under-side of his left lower arm. The boy's garb was a loose blue trench coat over what looked like surgeon's clothes, which was a typical light blue surgical scrub set. Furthermore, held under his chin was a medical mask, the one used to protect one self, or others, from getting a disease.

At that moment, a sense of disease and sickness washed over me, as if I had just met face to face with Ebola in human-form. I felt like I wanted to faint there and then but suddenly the feeling disappeared in a blink of the boy's eyes. The boy looked like he could be 16, yet his constitution seemed like that of a 100-year old man.

"Dude, do you need help?" I couldn't help but ask. "No..." The boy whispered so softly and lackadaisically, almost making me want to sleep uncontrollably. "I heard you were allowing tenants to stay at your house. Do you mind if I can stay here for a while?" At his words, my eyes widened in surprised realization that I had a potential tenant in front of me. Quickly changing gears, my serious business voice came out. "So you want stay huh? Well, do you have a biography tenant card?"

"Yes, sir..." With a wavering voice, the boy removed a piece of folded up paper from his jacket and then shakily passed it to me. The sight of such a sorry boy almost made me want to throw away the arrogant voice but like they said, life is never fair. As I opened the paper up, I recited whatever the boy wrote with his very scarily weak-looking handwriting, as if each sentence, each word, each letter was painful for him to write.

_**Name: Beltza Heriotza**_

_**Nationality: Basque**_

_**Age: 16**_

_**Personality:**_

_**I am quiet, sometimes considered too quiet by some people. When I go near them, they just leave. They never joke at me, never tease me. They just leave in a whim. They are scared about this disease aura I give out and whenever I look at them, I didn't feel anger at them. I could only feel jealous. Jealous that they didn't need to take 10 pills per day just to keep my ability in check. Add that to the daily Kishin Egg Soul I need to eat. I usually don't like to talk if anyone tries to get close to me. Because I know that sooner or later they will back away from my aura. Talking to them, acting friendly to them cannot divert this inevitable outcome. I am also infamous and famous at the same time. Plants wither around me. Animals go sick in my presence. Even inanimate things like buildings and technology slowly degenerate at my feet. And people gasp at the fact that I am the first and only biological weapon in the world. I have a will to live, mind you. I am not the type to commit suicide. But the idea hangs in my head everyday.**_

_**My name is Beltza Heriotza, the Black Death in my language. My power will kill you. My power will heal you. And finally my power will absorb you. I am the Black Blood version 2. While people call the Black Blood 'BB', those responsible for my existence called my power 'VV'.**_

_**Version Virus.**_

_**History:**_

_**I am the first biological weapon form in the world. I was first made by successful copy-cats of Medusa's Black Blood, a form made up by the Version Virus variant. However, I was too strong for them to control. Within months I grew to become an abomination, destroying and absorbing all the witches who have done me wrong. Then I rampaged through the streets of London, ridding it of all the Kishin Eggs and even criminals on the street. Those who stayed hidden didn't hide long. My viral network was flawless. Eventually I was called as Black Death, the bane of all things evil. But the people didn't understand that I was a danger to them too. The SARS Outbreak, the AIDS, Ebola, all the powerful diseases were all parts of me that had mutated beyond my control. Yet no one could see that. I was a hero in the spotlight. And a villain in the shadows. **_

_**Finally Death found me. He didn't kill me. But accepted me to a family. It was the first time someone ever did. The feeling felt good but it was also the last time I ever felt it. I was to become the black sheep of the Academy. The one to avoid. The one to leave out of everything. And though some tried to be my friends, they couldn't stay for long. Either they left me under peer pressure. **_

_**Or they died.**_

_**Powers:**_

_**Weapon form- **_

_**Version Virus. **_

_**The first ever biological weapon in the world, I could turn into a total of 3 forms. First, my normal human combat form, Carrier. I could summon my virus as a black swarm around me and could prompt them to attack anyone who crosses me. I have enhanced strength, enough to lift houses with both hands, and speed, being fast enough to dodge bullets. My senses are also enhanced due to the fact I am made up of billions, trillions of viruses, hence each could see and hear on its own. Thus ambushes have little effect on me and when I touch surfaces, I can leave my viruses to attack from behind. I can change my legs and arms, just like Alex Mercer, into powerful biological-like tools such as clubs and tendrils. I cannot make single-handed blades due to my density of virus needed to maintain the weapon but if I need a sword, I can merge my two arms together to form a swinging scythe-like weapon. **_

_**The second form is my cloud virus, Airborne. I can degenerate into a black wide cloud of little virus and I am partly intangible in this form. I also can attack from everywhere at great speeds and can even avoid infecting people in this form if I want to. I also gain flight capabilities. **_

_**The last form is my last resort. The Black Death itself. And even worse. I have only used this once. To fight Death himself. Thankfully I was contained fast enough. Else a pandemic would have destroyed the world.**_

_**Suicidal Soul Resonance – When I resonate with anyone, I can kill them. So if I forcibly resonate with an enemy, I can kill him.**_

"Woah..." I whispered in awe and wonder. "Well...Mr. Beltza..." I felt a gulp went down my throat. I really wanted to let him stay but looking at my current tenants, I knew it was too big a job. "I'm sorry I can't have you..."

"Oh..." the boy sighed as if he expected it and then after taking his biography paper, he begun to turn and walk away, his head hung down. I couldn't help but cring in pity as I shouted out to him. "Hey!"

"Huh?" The boy turned to me, a surprised look on his face. I flashed him an assuring smile as I threw him a card from my pockets. "Take this! It's another guy who is taking tenants. He might just be able to help you!"

Looking down at it, the boy gazed at it as if he was in a dream. Then he gave me a grateful nod and a very small but infectious smile. "Thank you."

On that card read the name of my friend: Despicable –D.

**Didn't expect that, did you Despicable? Oh and to everyone else, the next part of this episode will be coming soon. The bottles game is still on! Please review!**


	66. Snippets of Randomess Ep 2 Part 2

**Snippets of Randomess Ep 2 Spin the Bottles and Let there be Couples Part 2**

"Okay, I'm back!" I shouted as I ran into the room. And then I nearly puked at the first thing that stood out.

Rather comically, Soul and Black Star were reenacting their 'brotherly love' scene when Death the Kid first came to DWMA.

I could only feel my eyes twitch in awkwardness at the scene, as the two ran at each other in exaggerated slow-mo.

"SOOUUUULLLL!"

"BLACK STAR!"

"SOULLLLLLLL!"

"BLACK STAR!"

And they hugged.

BAAAAMMMMM! No, it wasn't Kid's gun-blasts. That was me.

"WHAT IN JUPITER'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?" I ranted at them at the top of my lungs. Double _bokken_ came hurtling towards on their heads and everyone else, the spectators, watched as the duo ricocheted throughout my room in epic chibi fashion.

"Urgh..." The two groaned in pain once I was done, their broken bodies lying on the ground. I could think how perverted they are to do that in my house. Suddenly, someone was tapping my shoulder.

"Huh?" I turned and almost jumped when a smiling Gospel appeared before my face. "Did you just disrupt the game?" A small but noticeable anger mark appeared on the still smiling girl's forehead. Then I gave a brief glance to the circle of participants. And right in the center, two bottles were pointing towards empty gaps in the circle. Which means...

I just interrupted a "dare".

**A minute later... **

Thankfully Gospel was nice and friendly, letting me off with nothing but what I can consider as the worst possible punishment in the world.

"Why did I have to be in this stinking game...?" I sighed to myself as I took a seat beside Gospel, in the circle the bottles of doom sat in the center of. Black Star was back to normal, which is usual for a guy of his spunk. As for Soul...well let's just say that looking dumb in front of a sweatdropping Maka affected his pride in his coolness. I gazed somewhat pitifully at his slumped state.

Gospel almost immediately went for the bottles and then picking them up, she explained the rules (again) to everyone.

"When the first bottle is spun, the person chosen gets to spin the next bottle. Then when the second bottle points to someone else, the second chosen one gets to truth or dare the other. And then if it is a dare, it must be agreed by the majority. After that, the second person spins and the next 2 must do the same process again. Okay?" It sounded simple enough. And so the first bottle went spinning courtesy of Gospel.

As the bottle, branded 1987, spun and spun about like the Earth would, I silently begged to myself that nothing would happen to me. I even bit my nails, prompting Alduin to gave me a weird look. After a minute or so of spin, the bottle came to a halt. Its tip was pointing towards Kid.

"I guess I'll have no choice..." Kid was about to extend out to spin the second bottle, but then when his eyes fell onto the bottle, his outstretched hand stop. "Kid?" Liz asked with concern. Everyone gazed at the Kid with wonder. "Hey! What's wrong?" Xeal pressed, his voice annoyed. "Kid?" Liz began to shake the stunned-looking boy in black.

"It's...BEAUTIFULLLLL!" And everyone fell to the ground face-first as Kid picked up the second bottle, which was just so to be perfectly symmetrical. His eyes sparkled as if the bottle was some Holy Grail of symmetry. "Damn this boy's idiocy..." Alduin mutter under his breath.

"Just spin damn it!" Her teeth gritted, Liz gave Kid a brutal punch in the head, sending the boy reeling. That must really hurt! His grip loosening, the bottle slipped out of his perfectly manicured hands and it dropped to the circle center and begun to spin.

Everyone watched on intently. I didn't know what they were thinking but I couldn't help but wonder who would pair up with a chrome yellow-eyed pretty boy, with a perfect black hair dressed in a neat perfect style and even had three COOL white stripes that end at the middle of his forehead on it too. Of course, he doesn't think so!

Grup! The bottle came to a stop. And the winner is...

Silence permeated through the air.

Everyone was quiet as they stared in stunned silence at the second person chosen. My own eyes widened (I swear) to the size of dinner plates at the 'chosen one'.

"What?" Akira sat up from his brief lazy slumber, wondering why everyone's eyes were on him.

"Ah..." Kid's jaw was on the verge of dropping off from total utter shock. Fate can bring such sadistic twists indeed.

Then realizing what was happening, Akira waved his hand to all of us to see if everyone was looking at him. And he realized they weren't. Instead their eyes were looking over his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Akira's head turned a whacky 180 degrees and then our true winner was now in his view.

Sitting behind the previously sleeping Akira, his canine feet sticking out just enough for the bottle to choose him, was a ghostly apparition of Lucifer, German Shepherd and all.

"Wassup?"

"EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"

**3 minutes later...**

"So am I supposed to truth or dare him?" Everyone nodded, even Gospel, who looked like a truck just rolled over her shocked form. Can't blame the girl who had the crush.

"And if it's a dare, you must all agree first?" Nod again, this time with more eagerness. This game was getting more fun than I thought.

"Fine..." Lucifer sighed in resignation as he walked up towards the shaking Kid, whose eyes were bloodshot with panic. The colour had drained from his face, clearly thanks to the conclusion that you are paired with a dog.

Lucifer's doggy maw opened as he made his decision.

"Dare..."

"YEAH!" Everyone, 'cept the stunned Gospel and the even worse-off Kid, cheered in glee.

And then Lucifer gave us a death glare. Each and every one of us. In 2 seconds flat, everyone went quiet and the atmosphere became chilly and creepy. I checked whether it was the air-conditioner but it wasn't. Lucifer had just made everyone tremble in fear. It seemed like if we even shook our heads at his dare, we would be torn to shreds. So if he suggested a boring dare, we have no choice but to agree. Quite an unexpected turn of events.

"My dare to Kid is..." I nearly gasped when I noticed something on the edge of Lucifer's mouth. Was that...a grin?

"..to look at yourself in a mirror..."

Owned.

And Kid screamed at the top of his lungs.

**An hour later...**

Okay maybe not an hour later. Thanks to Alduin's Time Slow, we get a lot more 'time' to push and pull the stubborn Kid in front of a mirror. As he screamed for help and kept on begging us incessantly to let him go, our determination was strengthened.

Finally, with Alduin and Xeal The Strong Men at his side holding him down, Kid was forced onto a chair in front of a little desk mirror provided generously by Liz. In a final futile attempt to deny his asymmetry, Kid clenched his eyes shut, refusing to take a look, much to the annoyance of the watching over Lucifer.

"I guess you give me no choice..." Lucifer gave a hefty sigh as his tail transformed into his giant blade. As I watched from the sidelines, I could not help but hope that the neighbors aren't being **too** distracted by the screams of an asymmetrical kid. Else, I'll be in a lot of trouble.

SHINK! SHINK! Just as I was about to think how I should explain, a sudden flash of light caught my eye. And when I got a closer look, I could not help but with almost everyone else, roll down onto the floor laughing.

The very source of Kid's asymmetry, his hair, had been shaved off by Lucifer's clean and fast blade-tail. With wide sparkly eyes, Kid smoothed his hand on his now shiny and bald head, the very light reflected on its reflective surface. Beside him, strands of his former hair were now scattered on the floor, only for Alduin to quickly burned it up mid-laugh. As Kid gawked at his now bald self in the mirror, Lucifer snorted proudly. "Alpha Wolf. Shaving Version..."

And what did Kid have to say?

"IT'S BEAUTIFUL!"

Turning to Lucifer, Kid gave an adorable loving puppy-eyes look. "Oh shit..." Lucifer murmured, knowing what was about to come next.

Owned.

"I LOVE YOU!" Kid proclaimed, as he tried to hug the now retreating German Shepherd.

"AND I HATE YOU!" Lucifer screamed back.

**End of Part 2**


	67. Odahving Chapter 18

They say that when you die, you see your life flash in little pink-framed snippets before you. Some people suggest that you will be in an eternal nightmare of tormenting darkness. Others suggest that you will be face to face with Death himself, his scythe in hand, ready to take your poor little soul back to Oblivion.

Problem for Alduin. All three happened at the same time.

First, Alduin's eyes could not help but widen in shock at the sight before him. He was staring at the time he died. Yes, the time he died. Around him, Death City seemed to have been encompassed in a temporal total dilation area and everything was standing still, so still that they could be the role model for statues. And right in front of him, was himself. The boy with night-black hair, black trenchcoat and black jeans. A gaping stab wound was right in his chest and blood spurting out of it was floating in mid-air, stopped in its tracks by the halting of time.

Then Alduin looked on behind and saw the manical face of his ex-second, Odahving, his eyes sparking in triumph, as the red-haired Kishin was in the midst of pulling out the Ebony Blade out of dying Alduin's chest. Further behind him was Cyril, the blonde girl that helped him **try** to fight Odahving, her mouth agape mid-yell and her lime-green headphones half-way from falling off to her neck. Rock and dirt were in the air. Leaves blew off by the random wind had been stopped mid-air and even the atmosphere felt still in its tracks. The sun, laughing as always, was paused half-way in its laugh and the thick red clouds that had been surrounding it now showed no signs of movement.

It wasn't a nightmare of tormenting darkness. But it was an eternal nightmare nonetheless. Alduin gazed silently at himself dying and then stared back at his own "real" hands. They were translucent and gave off a ghostly glow to them. As if he was just the spirit. A wandering soul without his body. And now frozen right in front of his eyes was that body, with a gaping sword wound in its chest.

"Eerie, isn't it? To see one's death before your own eyes?"

Gasping in shock, Alduin quickly turned to the sleepy voice, which sounded more like a tired murmur than anything else. Half of his mind expected the comical looking Death saying "Wassup!" to him and the other pictured a skeletal monstrosity carrying a sinister bloody bone scythe that easily dwarfed the epitome of the underworld.

When he finally managed to spot the being, his jaw dropped. In the sidelines of the battle, there was an oak table and even chairs. On the table were two cups of ready-made tea and a matching teapot. But the person on the other side of the table was the jaw-dropper, its head resting against the table, hence hiding its face.

Pajamas.

First thing you would notice. The very humanoid-like being was in blue pajamas. And even had stars on it to boot. Little twinkly stars... Alduin's eyes then shifted from the pajamas to the being itself.

Under the pajama floppy top hat, with its own star at the pointy end, there was a messy mop of black hair underneath, covering the rest of his head and reaching down his neck. Well, at least he was human enough... Alduin gave a sigh of relief as he dared to step closer. "That's...close enough..." the epitome of death seemed to waking up from some eternal slumber as his arms that had been acting as pillow for his head begun to move. Shifting slowly and lazily along the table, Alduin noticed that the pajamas didn't have sleeves and instead he had been staring at the being's bare arms. Very muscular bare arms.

"AAHHHHH!" His head still hidden against the table, 'Death' raised its arms in stretching as it gave a great roar of a yawn. And then something weird happened.

Alduin's eyes widened as he realized that there were holes dotted the outer-side 'Death''s upper arms. And as he tried to look deeper, he realized they were pitch-black, like endless tunnels.

ZING! Suddenly two bright spiraling light blue circles appeared beside Death, one on each of his still sleepy sides. Then, like the bullets from a machine-gun, small stone-like objects begun shooting out of one of the portals, diving straight into the holes on the being's left arm. They sped through so fast that Alduin could hardly keep up count. Almost simultaneously, the same stone-like objects came shooting out of the holes on the right and then rocketed straight into the right bright glowing portals, disappearing into whatever realm it was taking them to.

Then Alduin felt the power from the entity, bursting forth like a break in a dam. It was so strong, so encompassing, that it felt like a god like him was insignificant beside such a being. It was like how a 2-D being cannot match up with the 3-D. Alduin could feel his breathing get hasty and desperate and he immediately knew he was drowning in the being's sea of power. Compared to DWMA Death, this Death was the real deal. He even had his own bloody gravitational field, as Alduin begun to take cautious deliberate steps towards the still nodding off entity, his soul feeling drawn towards the entity. It was as if the being had magnets on his body and they were now pulling Alduin towards him.

" That's close enough..." The being raised a hand and the pressure, the power, the oppression disappeared in an instant. Alduin nearly fell to his shaking knees in relief. At the same time, six giant swirling wings of fire spouted out of the being's back, each terrifyingly large. And even worse, Alduin gawked at the color of the flame. Electrical black. "I'm sure you can infer it by now..."

After a long time of having his face pressed against the table, the being raised his head and his mop of hair parted to reveal his unknown face.

"No way..." Alduin wanted to desperately step back but he couldn't. He just had to stare on.

The being had night-black eyes, identical to Alduin's, a well-defined face and an indifferent expression. His aforementioned eyes opened in half-slits, the being casually touched against the scar under his left eye. Almost by instinct, Alduin touched his own scar under his left eye, the hard skin stinging at his shaking touch. The only thing new was a wide long scar that stretched from eye-to-eye, across the bridge of the being's nose, and the unkempt stubble around his chin. When he lightly felt it, the being grimaced, before recovering a expressionless face. "Why do you...look like me...?" Alduin stammered. His mind was a whir, right now, unable to comprehend what just passed in the past few seconds.

"You have mixed up the subject and the object. It is YOU who looks like me... " The being's voice was near-identical to Alduin's, yet it had what seemed like timeless maturity and ancient wisdom behind it.

Alduin gazed blankly back at the entity, who slowly picked up his teacup. Giving it a whiff, the being proceeded to sip a bit of tea and with a small grin of satisfaction, placed the cup back into its plate. All that while, Alduin stood there with that confused glimmer in his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Alduin shook his head. "Maybe this will refresh your memory...I think's here somewhere..."

His ever slow hand reaching in for the pocket of his pajama pants, the being seemed to take his time. A range of sounds, from alarms and guns, to horses and screams, could be heard as he rummaged through what seemed like his personal 'pocket' dimension. "Ah..." He gave a sigh of relief. "Here it is..." Retrieving his hand, the Alduin-lookalike produced something that made Alduin jump in shock.

In his outstretched palm was the lower half of what looked like an oak hourglass, its top half seemingly broken off. And the sand? Alduin gulped nervously. There was no sand left in the hourglass. _Jikan Sunadokei. _"My old man's hourglass..." At this revelation, Alduin's mind immediately went on overdrive, going through lists of possible beings that could do this. When he finally deduced who the smiling being was in front, he could not help but get down on one knee, his eyes shaking in perpetual fear. Now he realized the stone-things flying in and out the arm-holes were actually tiny tombstones. Depicting

"You...you...you..."

"Speak as normal, Handler. I might be powerful but I still prefer proper enunciation..."

Alduin gulped at the comment. 'Alright...i can do this...' he thought to himself. Willing the remnants of his courage, he gave his conclusion in a quick 'confident' voice.

"You are Time. My grandfather..."

And a smile spreading across the scruffy-looking face meant that Alduin had hammered the nail right on the head.

"Right on, kid...Have a seat..." Time motioned towards the pine dining chair opposite him. But Alduin immediately felt anger overcome his fear of his grandfather. He knew the history about this men. A fierce expression on his face, the boy ran up towards Time instead.

"Have a seat? After 10 billion years of leaving my dad alone to fend for himself, you now come out here and tell me to 'take a seat'?" Veins showing on his clenched fists, Alduin angrily slammed them against the mahogany table. "Do you know how screwed up things are now? Chaos and Order are rampaging about. My father, your son, is gone. Nirn is probably exterminated. And I just been killed over there by my second-in-command! Finally, you show up your face and just take things like as if you don't really care?"

Slurp! To Alduin's surprise, Time took a gentle sip of his tea, a satisfied expression on his face. "Sit down..." he asked again.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, ancient man..." Alduin complied with angry reluctance, sitting into the dining chair. His expression still defiant, Alduin's memories whirled through his mind.

_Dad, if fathers takes care of their child, then why is yours not?_

_Alduin, we talked about this...Time is just too busy..._

_But he is Time. Can't he just stop it and at least have a chat with us? I never even got to see him myself!_

_My father, your grandfather, just can't do that...Now shall we see what village to visit next?_

_But..._

_Ah._

_Okay..._

"Your father was right. I can't..."

"Huh?" Alduin gasped as his train of memories was interrupted and he was stunned as Time gazed at him with his sleepy night-black eyes. They spoke of incredible millennia of experience and power and Alduin felt sure that if Time were a library, the world would be too small.

"You read my mind?" Alduin asked puzzledly. Shaking softly his teacup to and fro, Time's attention seemed to be lost in the cyclic swirling of the tea. Which was now getting annoying to Alduin.

"Did you READ MY MIND?" Alduin pressed in, his voice increasing in volume. Finally, in a huff of impatient exasperation, he extended his hand out to try and snatch away the teacup.

Ciap! Alduin's eyes widened in shock as Time's own hand latched onto his. Its feel was icey cold, like frostbite, and a shiver instantly went down Alduin's spine. "What do you think you are doing?" Time replied, his expression more serious than tired now.

"Getting your attention!" Trying to sound courageous, Alduin retorted back to Time, who seemed unimpressed.

"Attention? I was giving my fullest attention..." Time then gave out a huge yawn, prompting Alduin to bat the entity's hand away from his. Pulling it back, Alduin gazed cautiously at his own shivering arm, where the part where he had been grabbed was now a shade paler than the rest of his skin. Alduin could swear he could even see frost smoke steaming off. "No way..." At this point, his heart was beating like it was on steroids, lub-dubbing strongly against his chest.

"Now then..." Alduin felt his heart beat even faster in fear as Time casually rested his smiling head on his crossed hands, which were stretched against each other finger-to-finger, the sort of stance which serious tacticians or generals use when they want to talk.

."Let's talk..."

**So Alduin's Jiji-san comes out and he is Time itself. Please review! This one took a little while to think about, as I didn't really know how to picture Time itself. I wanted a guy who was both physically funny, yet he has an air of seriousness about him. I placed him as a sleepy-sort of guy, pajamas and all, and also one who actually pretending NOT to paying attention(which pretty much translates to being a semi-annoying semi-badass sort of guy). And no, he will not fight. I will explain why in the next chapter. Adios! **


	68. Odahving Chapter 19

"I see..." Time gave another sip of his tea, much to Alduin's growing annoyance. For the entire time he had painstakingly spent explaining what was happening to the apparently listening Time, his grandfather, AKA ancient man, had been downing tea like an addict the entire time. 'How many cups of tea does that cup hold?' Alduin gritted his teeth, shooting a glare to the still sipping Time. Slurp!

"So that's what happened..." Time murmured casually, placing back the cup back into the intricate flower-patterned plate. "Interesting..."

"Interesting?" Alduin yelled back. "I'm dead, you idiot. I've lost. Can't you fucking see that?"

"Not yet, boy..." Time's words made Alduin gasp. "Not yet..."

"What...do you...mean?" Alduin stammered in shocked puzzlement.

Time silently hung his head, his mop of hair covering his night-black eyes. "Answer me!" Alduin pressed in, desperate to know what was on Time's mind.

"Do you know about the Concepts?"

"Huh?"

"I see...you don't..." After a moment of silence Time finally raised his head, amusement now in his eyes. Alduin felt chills went down into his very marrow. The entity in front of him was hard to read and Alduin couldn't help but feel fearful about what his granddad was thinking.

"Concepts are what you can consider as entity beyond gods. They are like 4D beings compared to 3D gods, invisible to you. Chaos and Order are all Concepts. It's what you said in the past. That Chaos was a freaking phenomenon. That is indeed true. What you see now, their physical forms, are only their shadows cast by their 4D bodies on your 3D world. In other words, they aren't really there. All you see is a phenomenon of their shadow."

"And you telling me this for?" Alduin frowned, unsure how this will help him.

"They are not the only ones." With a minute smile on his face, Time pointed at himself with his thumb. "I am the strongest of the Concepts. The Concept of Time itself."

Silence followed and Alduin gazed back in disbelief at his smiling grandfather. And then he gave a roar of anger

"So if you are the strongest, then why don't you just blast Chaos and Order back to Oblivion or whatever 4 Dimensional Tartarus you guys go to? If you did just that, my old man wouldn't be dead, wouldn't be dead amd Nirn would have been okay! Can't you see you have perfect opportunity to stop all this and yet you DIDN'T take it..." Chink, chink, chink! Alduin's voice trailed off into a whisper as the sound of moving chains could be heard and Time begun to pull himself out of his own dining chair. Eyes growing to the size of dinner plates, Alduin gawked at the sight of Time's lower body being wrapped in a massive number of glowing chains, so extensive, so tight that he couldn't even see a exposed shred of skin or clothing past that binding. As Time's hand extended to probe against the glowing chains, a sudden burst of energy forced him to recoil it back.

Time cringed grimly, turning to the stumped Alduin. "Beyond the Concepts, there are no beings. No entities. No consciousness. Just laws. Rules that bind us. That restrict us. What you are looking at now is about 1000 of such 5-dimensional laws, every single one of them all directed towards me. I am the most powerful, but also the most imprisoned Concept."

"You mean...you can't do certain things with those...chains...around your legs..."

"Yes. And the most basic out of them is that I cannot directly interfere with the dimensions. Rule 1, Time waits for no one. I must keep on flowing and never stop for anyone. "

Alduin gazed in silent wonder, trying to understand what it meant. Then his mind snagged onto something. "If you can't stop flowing, then how come you and I are meeting right now? If you can't interfere, then why did you stop time around here? Why did you save me?"

Hearing Alduin's words, Time raised his thick eyebrows questioningly and then he burst into giggles. "Me? No no no, kid... this time distortion wasn't made by me..." Controlling his amusement, Alduin's grandfather proceeded to point at his shocked grandson.

"You did this..."

"What in Chaos' name are you talking about? That's rubbish!" Alduin immediately denied it. "I'm not even the God of Time! How can I do this?"

"Just listen me out, boy. You had a contract with me.."

"Contract?"

"I'm the Concept of Time. I can freeze time, reverse it and even destroy or create it. I can make false histories, new futures and even new dimensions. Time is MY realm. So why did you think that I would allow lower beings to mess with my realm? I have contracts that allow temporal manipulation with them, my son and, evidently, you as well."

"So I can control time?"

"No, you can't directly control time. You control the destruction aspect of Time. Hence, when you died, the aspect kicked in and you created a singularity."

"A singu-what?"

"Sin-gu-la-ri-ty." Time repeated, emphasizing each syllable. "Not the Big Bang Star but a point in Time. You distorted time enough to force a point and thus like a bus would do with a bus stop, I was able to have a place to stop and since it wasn't of my own doing, the laws can't do anything about it." He showed a smile at the last sentence, as if relishing in being able to be free from the laws.

"So my dad knew this? That you were bound by the lords?"

"Junior? Yep, he knew. Well, at least I think he does..." Alduin gazed on, unconvinced, as Time scratched his head puzzledly. His impression of the ancient man has been neutral so far. The fact that the Concept doesn't seem to be caring much about his own son isn't helping to maintain that.

"Do you even care that he is dead?" Alduin gritted his teeth, as anger well up inside once again. He had been biting it back for some time now but Alduin felt that he was about to reach his limit. As if reacting to his anger, the singularity area around begun to shake. "Oh..." Time mused at the increasingly vigorous vibration, as his teacup rattled against the plate, the tea spinning about, in danger of spilling out.

"Even if you are a Concept..." Alduin felt his madness within cheer in glee as it wrapped around his wrath, but he didn't care. Raising out his hand in front of him, Alduin summoned Day Star, the claymore phasing out from the ground below. "I can't forgiv-."

"He isn't dead."

Alduin, unprepared, instantly stopped. Following his feelings, the vibration too halted. "Huh?"

"Members of our family all have this trait. This single big flaw that has been passed down since me. That they will be willing to do anything to protect their fellow group. Junior didn't kill himself in some kamikaze attack to fight Chaos. Why do you think the other gods haven't returned yet? Junior simply stopped time itself when he fought Chaos. As a result, he froze not only himself, but all the other gods in a protective cocoon of suspension. That little kid even managed to snag onto Chaos with the spell and delayed him. If he didn't, Chaos would have reached full power and the gods would have been obliterated by Chaos. I'm not the one who doesn't care. I do. Trust me. I do. You are just not confident in your own dad's abilities." Time smiled sweetly to the dumbfounded Alduin as he pushed Alduin's teacup towards him. "Sit down and have some tea. You should try my new recipe."

"He isn't dead..." Alduin muttered under his bated breath. Slumping down into the dining chair, Alduin allowed the now heavy Day Star to lean against it. What did Time mean by family flaw? Was that why Paarthurnax is siding with Order? Alduin shook his head to clear those thoughts. His father is alive. That's good enough for now. With a shaking hand, he picked the tea cup by the handle and after a brief apprehensive glance at the swirling translucent brown tea, gave a sip.

Vroom! "What?" Alduin gasped as a wash of energy came over his entire body and in a flash his tired muscles kicked up to overdrive. Strength could be felt beating anew through his vessels, the latter now showing up throughout his arms and up his neck. As the initial sting made him cring, his hand which was resting on the chair's wooden arm begun to clench around it, the sound of "Crick!" and "Clack!" reaching his ringing ears while the mahogany crack under his strength. After the power spike finally ended, Alduin could hardly control his now hasty and deep breaths, beads of perspiration streaking down his forehead. Instinctively, he gave his arms a flex. As if by reflex, his arm bones within begun to pulse under his skin, allowing his shocked eyes to look upon the glowing skeletal impression. With a flustered attitude, Alduin ripped off the bandages that he had left on his arm in order to look more closely. His right arm bones, from the little differences from a normal human bone, were that of a dragon.

World Eater.

"You were right to infer that your unique Destruction power was inside Junior's hourglass. It would be a shame if you were to lose such a powerful technique so I decided to give it back to you."

"But how am I supposed to use this? World Eater is only strongest with the accumulated age of its victims." Alduin looked on nervously at his arm. 'Here it comes...' Sure enough, black brush runic markings begun to appear on his right arm along the glowing image of the bone.

"Just in case you have to use it..." Time whispered grimly. "I may not like my own fellow Concepts to die but if it is a fate they brought upon themselves, then it can't be helped."

"You mean...you want me to use the humans to kill Chaos and Order..."

"I don't 'want'...it's just a fail-safe..." Time assured with a somewhat worrying expression. Then the Concept seemed to hear something. "I see...I don't have much time left..."

"What? What time?" Alduin was cut-off when Time extended his hand over the table. With a simple wave, three pieces of paper appeared on the pine dining table, each one in a language that Alduin didn't recognize. "What are these?" Alduin raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Contracts. It's time to choose which way to go." Time explained, his voice now dead serious. "I'm sorry we can't have a family chat but your singularity won't hold for long. Time needs to flow. And badly."

"Why do I even need these...contracts?" Alduin frowned in pain as another jolting sting came from his transformed arm. 'Ack,' he panted mentally.

Time shook his head, begging to differ. "Even with World Eater, going back to that situation will only get you killed again. This singularity will likely only happen once, so you will be as good as dead." Pointing towards the three contracts, he elaborated further. "These contracts will activate the current Sins and Virtues you already have and thus you will be able to turn the tide in your favor."

Gazing at the pieces of paper, Alduin's eyes narrowed with understanding, giving a heavy sigh. "Can't believe my life will hang on paper..." "Trust me, boy...a lot of people, whether Nirn or Earth, share such a fate or even worse..."

"I guess..." Alduin agreed, his tone one of resignation. "So what do each of them have?"

Time smiled sadly and he pointed towards the right contract. "This one is the most humane. It will not help you in terms of strength but in exchange, the Sins and Virtues will transport the entirety of Death City and its residents to another location, far away from Odahving's warpath. It will grant you time, which you now have little of." Alduin clenched his eyes as they looked upon his fallen frozen body just a few metres away, knowing what Time was referring to. He listened on as Time went on to the center contract.

"This contract will transport Death City too but instead of all of the residents, half of them will be left behind along with you. Those taken away will have your friends and the most able-bodied as its main priority. When it is done, you will then be free to use World Eater to absorb the half left behind and then strike Odahving with it. It should be enough to expel Chaos' influence that is on him. Hence you will gain not only time but also a tactical advantage in a form of an ally." Alduin's jaw immediately dropped at the conditions. "Half of Death City? You mean, murder half of a population? For a 'tactical advantage'?" Alduin's pupils shook about in fear, his mind now trying to reason with himself. The sacrifice was huge but the people would then be martyrs if their lives helped defeat Chaos and Order. A necessary evil. But so many just because of a simple act of Concepts? Alduin gazed at Time, who seemed to be unmoved by the condition. His night-black eyes were old and worn.

To him, death was just part of the routine.

"Shall I continue?"

"...Go...ahead..." Alduin stammered, his visibly shivering head hung down.

"Very well..." Time pointed to the left one.

"This contract will not teleport anything at all. It will save anybody. It will not help anybody." "Huh?" Alduin gawked at the seemingly bare conditions of the last contract. "What does it do then?"

Time went silent for a while, as if brooding whether to give the answer. Then he finally spoke, though with a somewhat optimistic voice.

"It will turn you into a Concept."

Concept.

**Alright got an official name for this briefest of arcs. I called it the Sacrificial Arc. Oh and I forgot to write down what happens when a Concept is newly born.**

**The Concept will stay dormant for **5 years** and everything else will happen around him. Now put on your thinking caps. What will happen if Alduin chose the last contract?**


	69. Odahving Chapter 20

"It will turn you into a Concept."

"Become a Concept?" Alduin's voice wavered at the last word. In his mind, the potential of a Concept made the idea seem tempting and an easy way to Chaos and Order on the same plane of dimension. All he needed to do was to point at the left contract and all will be good again, along with some Concept muscle. _"This one is the most humane." _Time's first words flashed through his mind. Immediately, Alduin bit back at the temptation and he became hesitant. There's got to be a catch behind the Concept contract.

"What's the condition behind the contract?" Alduin asked cautiously. This is why he hated having conversations. One has to be always careful when you talk. You never know what you get yourself into.

"There are no conditions behind this contract...The only thing of concern is the transformation itself..." Time spoke like a businessman selling a product, though the fact that they were running out of time was evident in the rush in his powerful voice.

"The transformation into a Concept will require first, an underlying aspect. That I have already taken care of. If you choose this contract, you will turn into the Concept of Humanity. Hence allowing the right to fight for them. The problem is the second requirement. For a full-fledged conversion, it will take a long time..."

Time paused, hence perking up Alduin's careful interest. "How long?" Alduin pressed on, having a feeling that he won't like the answer.

"5 years. Even more if needed..."

A full minute passed as the stated duration sank into Alduin's comprehension. "5...years...?" Typically, 5 years would be as simple as an hour for the ex-god but after exposure with the humans, five years now looked a insanely long time to remain dormant, unable to join the fight between the humans and the Concepts. By then, the humans would have...

"All died. Indeed. But I personally prefer this contract." Time stated nonchalantly.

"You got to be kidding me...Abandon them completely? Why the hell would I accept such a contract?" Alduin tried to argue.

"Caring for the feelings of your friends? Trust me, boy. You have already planted the seeds of hate into them by lying about where you really come from. And if you survive this situation, do you really think you can continue on that lie for long?" Time retorted back, much to Alduin's shock. "Don't be surprised, boy. I am Time. Nothing gets out of my sight."

"Jiji...but...Maka...Soul...Kid...even Black Star the brat...Do they really deserve such a thing? Such a fate?"

"Are you naïve, boy? They are not as pure as you think they are!"

"Compared to the mortals of Nirn, they are as pure as they can get!"

"A child like you can only see such a short-term consequence. Don't you know that when you beat Chaos and Order, you will then be entitled to recreate the universe in your image! You can recreate those 'friends' then! Think about your father, Junior! He will be proud that you have followed his footsteps as Supreme God! Even if we were separated for a long time, I still know him like the back of my hand!"

At the mention of his father, Alduin stopped shaking. "Follow his footsteps?" He murmured. "Chip of the old block! That is what they always say..." Time continued, as if he was proud about his own son.

But at that very moment, memories once again flooded into Alduin's mind and he went back to the time when he was being judged by his father.

_Father! I only wanted to be like you. I wanted to be able to change the world just like you. I only want a better place, better respect for the gods, just like you would. Why aren't you allowing me this right?_

_Because you disappoint me with those very desires..._

_Huh?_

_I had such high hopes for you...I can't believe that you would be a disappointment..._

_Father...Where did I fail you in...?. Where were my efforts not enough?..._

_Silence! You were a disappointment..._

_For trying to be me..._

_And now, my son, you will be banished to the beyond, powerless and stripped of your Thu'um._

_AAARRGGHHHHH..._

"No." Alduin said with new determination in his now solid tone. "He won't be..."

"What?" Time was the one now stumped at Alduin's sudden refusal. "What nonsence do you spout, boy? Of course Junior will appreciate you setting up a new universe. Your image is his image, right?" Time beamed a 'all-knowing' smile.

"No...he will never accept my image as his own. He never does. You don't understand him..."

Apparently that comment had hit a sore spot. "Understand him? I am his FATHER! Understanding him is my NATURE!"

"AND I AM HIS SON! HIS NATURE IS EXPOSED TO ME ALL THE TIME!"

Silence followed as tension in the air grew and the two look-alikes stared at each other with open hostility.

"So you are willing to sacrifice great power, great opportunity for simple humans! With a click of your fingers, you can create them out of nothing. _Creatio ex nihilo_!"

"But if they are in my image, all I would create would be just anger, wrath, betrayal and the same stench that I had hated Nirn for. I am a god of Nirn. I have accumulated, allowed to grow inside me, most of man's worst traits. And it was only until Earth could I even have a taste of the good ones. To allow the people of Earth to die would be to extinguish such good characteristics. Like my father said, there is never two of anything. Thus everything is meant to be cherished."

"Alduin! You are inherently evil as the Destruction aspect of time, don't you know that? When you go back, you will inevitably be exposed, shunned and then outcast. And finally you would lay down in the sand of the humanless Earth as Chaos and Order slug it out in the universe. You will die! Can't you see that I am trying to help you? Your life is in danger with the first two contracts. The third one will not only ensure your survival but also a great future for you."

"I know, grandfather. You said it yourself. It is our family flaw to help our own group. Whatever the means necessary," Alduin began to calm down, as his tense body begun to relax. The ancient man was finally opening up to him and he was actually appreciating what he saw within. Time's intentions were good.

"But...but...I can't just let you, my family die because of some random argument between Chaos and Order... If these 1000 laws weren't on me, I would have personally ripped out those two's eyes and then pour down dark matter into their sockets." Alduin nearly gasped as he saw what looked beads of water under Time's eyes. Time was crying? Then, slowly but surely, Time's appearance begun to change, eventually turning into that of an extremely old man with a wrinkled tired face and a beard that covered the entire dining table like a white dining mat.

"I'm sure you will." Alduin's heart couldn't help but soften at the sight. "But this is my fight. My fight alone. Let me show you how I will be a great god. I don't need Concept powers or new strength or tactical advantages. I might not even need World Eater. All I need is time, Jiji. And since you are Time itself, I'm sure you can provide it easily."

"I see..." Time sighed in final resignation, as he sank back into his chair. "Maybe you are right...I don't really know your father that much..." As if in defeat, Time gave a sad smile towards the awaiting Alduin, whose now unwavering finger begun to point towards the right contract. "Junior must have really wanted to be a better father than I did..." Time seemed to revisit his past, as he hung his head while little small droplets rolled down his ancient timeless face. "Funny...I thought I wasn't even a father to him at all..." Time straightened himself back up.

"Trust me, Jiji. I can do this."

"Trust? Hahaha...after all my 'Trust me, boy', who knew you would now be the one asking for trust..." As he was about to wave his hand, Time hesitated, passing a look towards Alduin. Alduin nodded with conviction, prompting the Concept to overcome his reluctance. As he waved, a black fountain pen materialized within his poised fingers and his new beard picked it off his shaking fingers and passed it to the waiting Alduin's hands. "Know this though, boy. I will not just sit idly by while you risk your life. Help will come. I assure you that. I might be a restricted ancient man but I can still pull some strings with the other concepts. Now, write your signature boy."

**Funny moment**

"Eh?" Alduin looked at Time blankly.

"What's wrong? Just write your signature."

"Erm, Jiji...I can't write...And what's a signature?"

"Aw man..." Time wiped his face tiredly with his hand as he sweat-dropped. "Is Nirn really that outdated? After 5 whole games, people are still unable to have guns. A gun can be such a great tool you know! And now they even lack signatures? Haven't Junior at least taught you how to even write? You can read, but you can't write?"

Alduin shook his head in disagreement, "Jiji, I was a dragon. Do you expect me to be able to walk to people and observe how they write?"

"Gah! Never mind...Give it here..." Time gave a huff of brief anger as his beard snatched the pen back. "Let me do it..." With a swift flick, the beard began to write on the contract with the fountain pen, answering the empty line below with a sharp "T". And then after a few more flicked, a clock was drawn beside the T. "There you go..." Time passed the contract back.

"The effects will take a few seconds to manifest so you must still be able to hold off Odahving for a short while. Just don't die again." Time warned Alduin as he gestured to Alduin to roll up the contract and place it in his trench coat pocket.

"That's it? We're done?" Alduin looked about expected a flash of light to engulf him but nothing happened.

"The singularity is still up for now but not for long. Perfect time for us to chat."

"Erm...sure..." Alduin was beginning to feel anxious. After signing the contract, he now felt like he was a paratrooper on a war plane, waiting for that dreadful signal to light up and prompt everyone to take the jump.

"So let's discuss your relationships..." Time beamed a wide smile, as if he had been waiting for this.

Alduin raised a questioning eyebrow. "Jiji...I'm a dragon. And an ugly-looking one at that. Girls aren't going to flock to me like Skyrim warriors do."

"Ah, you never know. And as your grandfather, I'm looking forward to a great-grandson."

"Ancient man! I look like a freaking 17-year old. I can't marry. And in such turbulent conditions, who would even think about relationships at this time?"

"Trust me, boy. A lot of people would. It's like when the world is ending; the first thing you will think about is how you have yet to lose your virginity!"

"Was that a joke?"

"Nope."

Alduin went silent for a while, clearly irked out. "Whatever..." He tried to get to another topic but Time pressed in.

"You know that Cyril girl is not only cute, but she is waiting for someone to go out there to hug her!" As he said that, Time even blushed in the thought, much to the jaw-drop of Alduin.

"Cyril is just someone who has helped me a bit. Going against Odahving by herself makes her worthy of respect."

"Then what about that Maka Albarn? A bookworm and an extrovert at the same time. She has the best of both worlds. Even though it seems that someone already has his sights on her, I'm sure my boy would be able to dominate such feeble competition."

"Ancient man, Maka is a good girl. She's one of the few who has trusted me when I first appeared. Of course I'll perceive her as a good friend."

"Just a friend?" Time pressed on with an amused face but an annoyed glare from Alduin prompted the Concept to back off.

"How about Gospel?" Time suggested next, this time with a somewhat seductive accent when he said the name.

Alduin immediately face-palmed himself in disgust of his grandfather's perverseness. Furthermore, he had to cover the blush that was spreading across his face. What can he say? The girl was not only gorgeous but also one of the gentlest females he has ever met. Anyone who gets her should count himself lucky.

"Drop it, Jiji..." Alduin gave a heavy sigh as he hung his head sadly. Even if he could find a girl, no doubt the fact that he had given a goddamn lie to everyone would make friendship, let alone romance, impossible.

"What's wrong?" Time noticed his boy's depressed look. "Worried about the truth?"

"I just don't know how to explain when the lie is exposed. Everyone will then resent me. It will be just like you said, Jiji..."

Alarmed at this, Time hurriedly tried to cheer the ex-god up. "Hey! Hey! What happened to the determination I saw in you a while ago?"

"It will be just like when I rebelled against my old man. They would feel betrayed and then they might even fear me. When you see someone who betrayed you, would you be willing to be his ally?"

"If he redeems himself, yes!" Time gave Alduin a soft reassuring pat on the shoulder as he answered. "When Death City is saved, people will realise that you are not malicious. You may be inherently evil but you will not hurt them."

"What if I..."

"Just calm down and get ready for a turbulent period. Everyone has their secrets, so they can emphasize with you." With his long beard, Time raised Alduin's hangin head. "Raise your head high and keep your friends close."

"If I have any more friends..." Alduin narrowed his eyes grimly.

"Don't worry. You will." Time then begun to yawn, his mouth wide enough that Alduin could fit his head in. "It's almost time..."

Sure enough, cracks begun to form about the area, marking the growing instability of the singularity. "I almost forgot!" Time gasped as he gave out another yawn. Digging into his coat, Time pulled out a large book and passed to the surprised Alduin's hands. "What's this?" Alduin looked at in puzzlement at the book, whose binding seemed old and the pages even yellowed by age. Various post-its and labels stick from the side, the writing on them a language he didn't recognize.

"My personal artefact. Or at least a fragment of it. When you are ready, open it and read it later." Time gave a reassuring smile as the pieces of the area around them were now dropping off one by one like glass fragments. Alduin's eyes widened as his ghostly aura begun to solidify and he begun to levitate.

Turning his head, he realised that he was now heading back towards his frozen body. As white beams of bright light begun to shine through the cracks, Alduin hurriedly grabbed Day Star by the hilt while the ancient book was tuck tightly under his armpit. Before a flash of light, more powerful than the others, engulfed him, Alduin's ears managed to pick out the cheerful yet growingly tired voice of Time and his eyes narrowed at the now darkening silhouette of the Concept.

"When you get to see Akatosh, tell him that Senior say hi! Oh and that I'll see him soon. Maybe. Probably 1% chance. Ah-YAAAWWWWWNNNNNNN..."

**End of the Contract Arc. Oh and this chapter is pretty important as I'll refer to it sometimes. So do keep that in mind and I look forward to some reviews.**

**As for update, get ready for some Turbulent Times!**


	70. Odahving Chapter 21

"ALDUIN!"

"What?" Xeal gasped at the high-pitched screaming voice of Cyril piercing through the air. And opposite him, rising out of a smouldering crater, Thanatos remained quiet, his long chipped-looking two-handed sword holding him up as support. Xeal shot Thanatos a glare, as thoughts raced through his mind. He was tempted to continue using his flat half-greatsword and slug it out with Mr. Coffin. But Alduin seemed to be in trouble and Cyril could very well follow. He had seen her Gakudan collapsing in the distance and the sudden tremors in the earth suggested that their opponent was no doubt a powerful one. Xeal stared towards the waiting Thanatos, unsure what to do. Suddenly, Thanatos' eyes showed themselves from under his trench coat hood and they connected with Xeal's. His eyes had black surrounding sclera with yellow pupils. Xeal gritted his teeth as a brief message was exchanged between the two combatants.

"We'll finish this later..." Xeal hissed hostilely towards the dark being as he allowed his glowing runic greatsword to reform back into his left arm. Then, as he turned, his Abrazas-themed cloak flew in the air and within the brief time he was hidden under it, he was gone, leaving only a scattering of sand and dust.

Thanatos didn't reply as he slowly stepped out of the crater. Around him, houses had giant holes in them and walls that had stood in the combatants' way were all grounded to dust. At least one mass of fire could be seen crackling away on the house roofs and the ground was strewn with debris and blackened spots. His hand letting go of Izanagi, his faithful two-handed sword flew into his six-sided coffin. As he felt the impact of return on his back, he could hear the loud slam of the wooden coffin doors. And on his chest, a long bloody cut was finally closing up.

With a satisfied smile on his hidden face, the silent being turned towards the towering shape of the DWMA. And he began to walk.

**Back to Cyril...**

"I...did it...I FINALLY DID IT!" Odahving gave a cacophony of "Odahaha" as he proceeded to butt the falling body of Alduin with the pommel of Arondight. At the sight of the limp body of his fallen opponent skidding against the ground, Odahving could not help but feel a sense of glee and pride welling up inside his heart. If he has one, that is. While he ignored the 'background noise' of Cyril's screams, Odahving strolled up towards Alduin, giggles still being emitted under his breath. His levitated crescent wings Honorem flapped in the air, its eight black feathers basking in the shadows cast by the dark clouds overhead. As the unmoving face of Alduin came to view, Odahving looked on at Alduin's night-black eyes, allowing his victory to sink in. 'Looks like you really have fallen, Fallen Alduin?" he grinned, his desire now fulfilled when he couldn't see any sparkle of life within those now dark eyes.

"I guess you wouldn't mind if I just LET YOUR BODY GO THE VULTURES!" Odahving cackled as he held the Ebony Blade by the backhand and raised it over his head, intending to desecrate Alduin's body. "The first of many to die for a new universe. YOU SHOULD BE HONOURED!"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

BOOOM! Odahving couldn't react before a charging lavender typhoon, now blaring out angry rock music, smashed straight into his unguarded back. As he flew through the air, he smashed into a pile of rubble or two, before finally smashing into a house, causing the weakened structure to collapse onto him. With Odahving obscured from view, Cyril hurriedly wrapped to Alduin's side, her purple soundwave converging into her girl form, with the colour drained from her face.

"Alduin! Talk to me!" She shook him furiously, hoping to just 'shake' him alive. But there was no response. Just perpetual silence. "No...not you too..." Cyril felt tears well up in her eyes. At that very moment, pictures of her mother flashed before her mental eyes, reminding her. Telling her. Showing her that she couldn't even protect someone under her watch.

"What's wrong? Sad over someone's death?" Cyril's emerald eyes, brimming with anger, narrowed at Odahving, his silhouette rising out of the house pile. He gave a stare, silently telling her to 'bring it on'. Cyril tsked as the green headphones she usually wore around her ears now fell down to her neck.

"DAMN YOU!" In a flash, a huge purple tornado begun a headlong charge towards the waiting Odahving. Holding the two blades in a classic dual-blade one-blade-forward-one-blade-behind stance, Odahving grinned in anticipation of the attack. "Bring it!" He taunted amidst the roar of a girl provoked to a warpath. "Come and get me!"

"I'll KILL you!" Cyril yelled in blood-curdling anguish and wrath, directing all her energy into one attack. 'I'll take you down, Odahving! Even if I die at the act!' Cyril thought as she was right upon the Kishin, whose eyes widened in expectant glee.

"You're next-!"

"DIE-!"

BRROOOOOMMMMM!

"Huh...?" Surprised, Odahving's voice broke at what looked an impossible miracle that had just taken place.

"You..." Cyril's eyes felt tears well up in them at the unbelievable sight before her. Her anger-spurred energy vanishing as fast as it appeared, the lavender typhoon reformed into the sobbing DJ girl. As her eyes showing exhaustion and disbelief, the girl stumbled and tripped. Right into the open arm of the revived Alduin. On the opposite side, a certain Kishin froze with his mouth agape, unable to find his eloquent voice in his shock. His Arondight, which had slashed up in intent to bisect the girl in two, was currently blocked by Day Star, held by Alduin's augmented arm. At their touch, a clash between electric black fire and red-outlined onyx-colored energy could be seen between the two blades, spurting at the slightest bit of exertion. Alduin's burning scarf flew in the gentle wind, slowly forming a protective encirclement around him and the girl now sleeping against his chest.

"How..." Odahving barely spoke, before he felt that Arondight was being pushed back. Using his body as a pivot, Ira, in a brief moment of control, forcibly swung Day Star in a circle, all the while dragging the guarding Odahving along with it. As his feet skidded against the ground, Odahving attempted to counter the dragging swing with a cross of his dual blades. It wasn't enough. His strength super-sized by Ira's presence, Alduin sent Odahving flying into the air, before sending forth a charging ball of IDNANFT from his blade. "Shit!" Odahving could barely react at the wake of the energy ball closing in. It was only thanks to a well-timed swing of the Ebony Blade that he was able to escape (and absorb) the ensuing explosion with just burns.

Panting from the minor episode, Odahving kept himself aloft with his gently beating wings and he looked down towards the silent Alduin. His mind was still stumped by Alduin's revival, as his hetero-eyes looked down onto Alduin's chest. Whatever sword wound he had given the boy earlier had all but disappeared, leaving behind only a minor bruise. "Impossible. You were dead..."

"Only for a while..." At first, Alduin's voice was half-Ira, half-Alduin. But soon the ex-god reclaimed control and his voice was once again deep and serious with a tone of pride, the pure voice of Alduin. "I got time at my side..."

"Time?" Odahving raised his bushy eyebrows in puzzlement. "What good does time have against the inevitable?" As he felt his tiredness fade away, Odahving begun to regain his composure, a slow but still hesitant smile forming on his face. "What garbage are you blabbering about?"

Alduin gave a soft giggle. Odahving immediately noticed. "What's so funny?"

"My bad, Odahving. It's just been a long time since we had a chat. Why don't we just sit down like good buds and have some good tea while we talk?"

Odahving gasped at Alduin's brash words. His smile turning into a scowl, Odahving retorted angrily. "Don't talk like we are friends, Alduin! What is this? Some kind of political tongue that you just gained?"

"Politics? Odahving, you and I have been fighting side-by-side for so long. You know that I hate to talk about politics, right? I'm just giving a friendly offer of conversation. That's all."

And Odahving's jaw dropped. "Who are you?"

Alduin paused at Odahving's question for a moment, looking down as if in thought. Then a smile broadened across his face, much to the surprise of the Kishin overhead. "I am Alduin, Odahving. Your leader and your partner."

Partner.

Partner...

The word rang through the red-head's eardrums and for a moment there, his brain felt like it had frozen from the very sound of the word. Right after that, the ice around his mind was swiftly incinerated by the flames of his anger. "P-Partner?" In a bloodthirsty battle-cry, Odahving exerted his presence and rivers of onyx energy flowed out of him, billowing out. At the explosion of his wrath, his wings of Honorem begun to twist and reshape itself, expanding with each second of his powerful roar. Giving out a great continuous "YOL", streams of red fire shot out from his gaping maw, while Honorem finally turned into an abomination-version of itself, each feather now sharp devilish spike and where they converged had a single giant eye each. The eyes promptly opened their lids, spewing out disgusting virteous fluid, as their eyeballs, with a red sclera and sinister black slitted-shaped pupils. Honorem then hovered closely towards Odahving and in an instant, protruded tentacles pierced Odahving by the back, attaching the horrific wings to its rightful owner. Yet, despite the gruesome attachment, Odahving didn't seem to even care, his berserk state causing his pupils to become slitted and feral-like.

"PARTNER? AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF ARROGANCE, POOR LEADERSHIP AND STUBBORN SELFISHNESS, YOU CALL US PARTNERS?" Odahving yelled maliciously towards the attentive Alduin, who silently cringed at the sight of his opponent. And friend.

'Forgive me, Odahving...' he thought in his head. Turning his eyes away from the Kishin, Alduin gazed at the knocked out Cyril tucked under his arm, her limbs hanging limp in the air. 'I needed to provoke you...Cyril's anger provided the ignition. But I need the fuel.'

'I need anger.'

'Anger to keep Ira on. Time told me I only needed a few seconds to keep Odahving back before the Sins and Virtues will do as the contract says. I may not be able to beat Odahving, but with Ira, I might be able to at least equal him.'

"You are making a daring gamble..." Alduin instantly could feel goosebumps form on his skin at the dark, ancient voice of the awakened Sin of Wrath within his mind. "I just need a few seconds..." Alduin replied mentally as he refocused onto the pulsing muscular form of his adversary.

"I WILL TEAR OUT THAT STUPID TONGUE OF YOURS AND I WILL MAKE IT SUCH THAT 'PARTNER' WILL NO LONGER BE A PART OF YOUR VOCABLUARY!"

"I will bring you back..." Alduin's voice cut off when he was about to say "even if it kills me". His eyes narrowed in sadness as a particular memory came to mind.

"_Do you think Lucifer will ever give his life to help us?"_

"_Lucy-kun? Well I guess so. He's always so headstrong and loyal. If you want someone to be the Kamikaze guy, he'll be the first volunteer. And then he'll make sure he is the ONLY volunteer. That's how much he values other people..."_

"Values other people, huh?" Alduin muttered under his breath, out of earshot of Odahving. There is never two of anything. His glowing hand tightening its grip around Day Star, Alduin steadied the claymore in front of him, his eyes now full of conviction, his mind now surrounding one single thought.

'From this battle, I have already lost two people. Lucifer and Professor Stein. Two people...'

'I WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER ONE TODAY!'

**To tell you the truth, I never expected this update to be this good. I was having trouble at first but it seems like writing at 3am in the morning really allows my mind to run free looking for epic things! Hope you like it and please review!**


	71. Odahving Chapter 22

Did Time say a few seconds?

Cause it's already been a minute and nothing has happened.

Alduin gritted his teeth as he dodged another deadly wave of wing-spikes, allowing their sharp tips to pierce deep into the ground. Bringing Day Star about, he managed to cut off the 4 wing-spikes off. Overhead, Odahving gave a brief 'tsk' as he retracted his spikeless wing and with a narrowing of his eyes, regenerated the spikes back. Alduin panted, wondering what's taking so long for the Sins and Virtues to take effect. The crests-holding box felt heavy in his jean pocket and the crest Ira he held tightly in his free hand remained unchanged. No burst of power. No spike of energy. It just continued to glow an angry red. He could feel the strength that Ira had granted him pulsing through his arms and Day Star felt like a natural part of him, the claymore held easily in one hand. But Odahving was still in front of him and Death City was still in the middle of a giant collapsed canyon, which was in turn in the middle of a widespread desert. If they had already teleported, then Time had screwed up. Pretty badly.

"I clearly remembered that ancient man telling me that it took a few seconds..." Alduin wondered in confusion, his eyebrows already rose in worry. "Did that Jiji miscalculate?"

Then Alduin hit upon the answer. "I'm so stupid!" He mentally cursed himself. "That ancient man is Time itself. His perception of it is...himself. A few seconds to him might be..." Alduin's thoughts trailed off in horrific astonishment. Must he fight that long?

To Odahving, he noticed Alduin's gaping mouth and his suddenly frozen stance. "What's wrong, Alduin? Lost your nerve?"

His thoughts disturbed, Alduin frowned at the darkened face of his opponent. "Lost my nerve? I'm just getting warmed up!" he retorted with a forced smile.

"I see...Then I will make sure that you die before you even start exercising!"

With a exertion of pressure, Odahving coated Arondight and the Ebony Blade in a red-outlined black coat of energy. Then holding them in opposite directions, he rotated his body clockwise. "Cyclic Space!" He shouted as the two blades simultaneously shot out two wave-like bursts of energy and as the two bursts neared each other, they begun to spin about each other, mimicking a spinning disk. Alduin's black eyes focused towards the spinning circle of energy closing in and he steadied Day Star in front of him.

'How long do I have keep him off?' Alduin thought as the relatively large cyclic wave of energy clashed straight into the jet-colored blade of his claymore. With tornado-like intensity, the waves exerted against Alduin, sparks flying between the circle and his sword. Alduin even cringed when one of the sparks touched his left-cheek scar. "Gospel!" Alduin yelled as the shield complied, expanding fast enough to bat the spinning circle in the side. Diverted off its original target, the circle flew off towards a nearby house and soon cleanly cut off the entire top half of the house, sending a loud 'crash' through the air as the house collapsed. "Tsk..." Odahving shook his head in disappointment before with a casual wave, dispersed the cycling attack before it could continue on.

His pupils dilated with still lurking anger, the heterochromatic-eyed boy looked straight towards Alduin, who was still trying to catch his breath. "What are you trying to pull?" Odahving asked abruptly, much to Alduin's surprise. Noticing Alduin's gasping expression and then looking back, Odahving now frowned in suspicion.

Then Alduin's face recovered and a new broad smile went across it. "Me? Pull something? My my Odahving... You know me better than that...partner..."

And that word instantly blew off Odahving's thoughts. In a new burst of provoked rage, Odahving abandoned his suspicions and begun to fly in a more menacing manner. His mind was now back on stripping the little annoying brat piece by piece.

'Good...that was close...' Alduin admitted to himself. If Odahving had caught on what was truly happening, he would just go on to flatten Death City in one fell swoop. Fortunately, Alduin's farce had worked again. But in the back of his mind, Alduin wondered how long this will take. "How much longer, ancient man?" He thought desperately.

He would just have to keep Odahving distracted.

**In the medical room...**

"MAKA!" In a sudden jolt of energy, the purple-haired boy known as Crona shot up from his sleep, his eyes searching wildly for the girl he had known so well. As he was about to jump out in a frenzied search for her, a sudden pair of black arms with white butler gloves wrapped around his neck and pulled him back in bed. "Whoa whoa calm down, bro!" Ragnorok's concerned voice spoke out to Crona, who then begun to struggle against his Death Scythe partner.

"Let me go! Don't make me have to deal with you!" Crona demanded angrily but Ragnorok held on against his host's powerful strength.

"Calm down, Mr. Gorgon! Maka is here!"

Crona gasped at the mention of his surname. Instantly Ragnorok stopped shouting, his voice quietly whispering 'Oh oh'. His master's line-thin brows frowned as his head turned towards the other voice. As his vision finally cleared off any worry-induced blurriness, Crona gave a death stare to the tall student in front of him. The brown-haired male had his hair in a buzz cut and his blue eyes begun to shake the moment they met Crona's purple ones. The student was at least 16-17, possessing a rather large bulky stature, which was covered in a black military jacket over a T-shirt. His legs, wearing combat pants, looked solid and tree-trunk-thick, as if they were meant to withstand the recoil of cannons. The student was also unusually barefooted, but Crona didn't notice. Instead the boy stared up towards the towering student, unimpressed by his physically intimidating stature.

"Friedrich Schmidt..." Crona muttered menacingly under his own breath. He knew everyone in the DWMA. Because they were all willing to help him back then. Even those who just left him alone sometimes tried to introduce themselves but are soon scared away by Ragnorok. Yet, Crona still kept their names in mind. That was him back then, always looking so deep into details because he didn't know how to deal with the overwhelming amount of information.

"It's Fritz...in short form..." the bulky student's voice shook in badly-hidden fear. As Crona slowly lifted himself out of the bed, overcoming Ragnorok's arms bit by bit, he twisted and turned his numb neck, giving out a sigh of relief at the sound of his bones cracking, the coat of exhaustion over him falling away. Rubbing the back of his neck, Crona turned towards the wide-eyed gentle giant.

"Where is she?"

**A few seconds later...**

Led by the silent half-calm half-scared-shit-out-of-his-pants Fritz, Crona entered the other medical room next door. And the sight before him immediately caused him to give out a hushed gasp. "Oh dear..." Ragnorok muttered in horror, his chibi-form attached to Crona's back.

All 12 beds of the medical room were occupied. That was never good. Not in a 'safe haven' like Death City.

Crona immediately spotted Maka and Soul unconscious beside each other, their bodies seemingly hurt everywhere. Crona then recognized Black Star and Tusbaki, who were both knocked out too. Finally, he noticed the brown-haired motorcycle boy he knew as Akira too among the patients, as Fritz, who seemed to know him, lumbered towards his side. Crona then turned his attention to the other 7 people injured and realised that they were all residents of Death City.

At that very moment, one of the residents begun to disintegrate before his very shocked eyes, as little bits of chaotic darkness begun to eat away at the battered pale body of the woman. Soon, he was looking upon a floating blue orb known as a soul. However, even that began to be burned away by the slivers of darkness.

"What in the world could have done this?" Ragnorok commented in the background, while Crona rushed up to Maka's bedside, fearing the same might happen to her. Looking at her body up and down, Crona gave a sigh of relief when no trace of the same darkness seemed to on her. "Thank goodness..."

"You don't need to worry." Crona turned to spot the teacher Marie entering the room. "Marie-sensei..." He whispered to her, while his own pale hands clasped on Maka's gloved ones, like he was the last lifeline for her. "The darkness only affects those with weak wavelengths. It won't attack someone strong like Maka..."

Crona nodded in agreement. "I see..." Looking down towards the petitle looking girl, her ash brown hair in its signature pigtails, Crona then hung his head down in what seemed like disappointment. "Looks like I can't really deal with some things after all..." Hearing his laments, gentle-hearted Marie quickly tried to console him.

"Crona..." Just as she was about to reach out and assure him a pat on the shoulder, the purple-haired man suddenly turned towards her, a determined look in his usually dull green eyes. In tandem with him, Ragnorok quickly disappeared, before reappearing as his black-purple broadsword form in Crona's hand. Marie barely stifled a gasp when Crona asked her in a very aggressive and hostile tone, as if he was a ticking timebomb ready to pounce on its offender.

"Who was responsible for this?"

**Back to Alduin,**

"Yargh!"

Alduin cried out in brief pain as he stumbled back. Odahving, now standing on level ground, held his dual blades menacingly, sending strike after strike towards him. As he continued to parry and block, Alduin only managed to get a few hits in but the raging Kishin simply shrugged it off, each injury on him closing up the instant it appeared. Beady sweat formed on the black-haired boy's forehead, as he swung his left arm towards Odahving. On cue, Gospel appeared, just in time to butt into Odahving's face.

"Why you!" Odahving gritted his teeth; his feet taking a step back to cushion the force. Almost immediately after, Alduin charged a fireball around his clenched shield hand. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He roared as he fired the blazing electrical sphere at point-blank range. However, Odahving was ready and with a thrust of the Ebony Blade, he absorbed the ball into the black blade, the former turning into dissipating glass. Following that, Arondight burst into a stable sword-length flame of red-outlined darkness, making use of the energy converted from Alduin's technique.

"Shit!"

"CRIMSON SPACE!"

ZHOOOMMMM! In an instant, the solid beam of crimson energy shot out of the unholy blade, piercing through everything in its path. By the time the beam destabilized and soon dispersed, it had cleared a path of destruction at least 200 metres long, reaching just beyond the borders of the cleared out fight zone. And where he had stood right in the face of his adversary, Alduin had already been seemingly obliterated. But Odahving knew better.

"TIL!" Odahving immediately recognized the shout and in one swift turning movement, he spun around his waist and raised both swords in a defensive cross. At the same time, the speeding Alduin, assisted by the powers of Time Slow, appeared into view from his blinding speeds, bringing Day Star down towards Odahving. Clang! As expected, the three swords clashed and the two combatants fought against each other's pushing strength.

"You've gotten slow, Alduin..." Odahving frowned in confusion. "It's like you are not giving this fight your all..."

Alduin attempted to give a small smile back. "My all? You know I don't fight my partner at full strength, right?"

Suddenly, Odahving seemed to give him an understanding grin. "I see...You are trying to provoke me..."

"Huh?" Alduin nearly gasped in shock when Odahving begun to relax his push. 'Did he find out?' Alduin thought frantically. Odahving grinned even wider, his mouth reaching the height of his nose. "You got some sort of plan up your sleeve? No wonder you are just trying to stall for time..."

At that very moment, Alduin felt something. Something within him. Maybe it was just the heat beating down on him. Maybe he was just hallucinating from combat exhaustion. Maybe he was made desperate due to the fact that Odahving seemed to have found out about his plan. But something in him was telling him that he just needed to hold on for just about a minute longer. Even now, the crystal box of crests in his pocket felt heavier than usual. Ira's voice, which had been speaking in his head for some time now, seemed to have receded back into its blood-red phoenix crest.

Alduin needs only one more minute. His two Soul Focus techniques, even if simultaneous, can't stall for that much time.

But World Eater? He might just stand a chance.

**One more update done! This is an announcement to all those who have been faithfully reading my 'books'!**

**I think I have been vague about the OC suggestions and so I will clarifying that in the next update.**

**Oh and cheers to Revenant74 for the character of Fritz the Cannon. And yes, you heard right. He is a flak gun weapon. Which means...Unusual!**


	72. Odahving Chapter 23

**Music: Ranbu no Melody by ****SID**

_**shizuka ni shizuka ni maku wa kiri otoshi**__**  
>kakusei no yoake ni aoi honoo<strong>_

_**Quietly, quietly, night's curtain is being scythed,**__**  
>as a sapphire flare appears in the dawn sky of awakening.<strong>_

"Get ready..." Alduin paused mid-sentence as he gave his now confident opponent an unnerving stare. "Odahving..."

"Huh?" Odahving gasped when a loud thud could be heard, Alduin allowing Day Star to plunge blade-first to the ground. "What are you doing?" Odahving, becoming cautious, quickly disengaged from the sword lock and hurriedly jumped back. But to his surprise, Alduin didn't seem to have moved a muscle, simply standing there while his scarf blew in the wind. A wind which, Odahving realised, was not initially there.

Suddenly, Alduin's right arm begun to pulse, its skeletal-shaped glow increasing in intensity with each flicker. At the same time, little green wisps of light begun to leak out of every blade of surviving grass and then drifted towards the arm, like little iridescent butterflies attracted by a harlequin-coloured light. As the wisps left, the grass began to get smaller. At first, Odahving thought they were drying up but after a few minutes, he realised that the grass were actually reverse-aging, the now tiny green blades seeping back into the devastated ground. No doubt turning back into little seeds before snuffing out of existence.

_**miwatasu kagiri no yami to kattou tesaguri no hibi**__**  
>bokura wa make wo shiranai yowasa wo dakishime aruita<strong>_

_**atarashii kiba de jidai wo kizame**_

_**Through these days with nothing but darkness and conflict in view,**__**  
>we walked, holding tightly onto our weakness that refused to give in.<strong>_

_**With those brand-new fangs, leave your marks on this era!**_

_Meanwhile, in the endless colourless void of time, a certain seraph-winged Concept sleepily drifted through the void, the 1000 chains wrapped around his lower body chinking against each other. As his electrical black fire wings flapped lazily in the invisible waves, Time's hands were slowly writing out what was a letter. And by slowly, he was writing at a snail's pace, at best one word per minute. Though his eyes remained exhaustedly closed, his veins popped across his arms, as if he was using all his effort just to write that letter. Then, Time felt something shifted through the void. Like a hibernating bear waking up from its timeless sleep, Time's eyes barely opened up to half-slits. His flowing white beard, a stark contrast to his lower body of black chains, shifted against his star-patterned pyjamas, while the ancient man slowly scratched his pyjama hat._

"_I thought you didn't need it..."_

"YAAARGHHHHH!" Alduin's roaring voice rang through the air, prompting an exertion of presence through the air, clouds of dust and sand swirling about him. As Odahving looked on in blank confusion, Alduin's glowing right arm was finally surrounded in a shroud of harlequin green energy, with random forks of green lightning appearing here and there along the shroud. But the shroud was brief as it dispersed, this time into bigger balls of green light. Almost immediately after, Alduin's scarf of black fire detached from his neck and then in one swirling move, captured all of the balls of light. As a new black outlined ball with a green center was formed, it travelled up the glowing image of the arm bones, before resting serenely in between his nearly closed fingers. It was only the size of a gobstopper candy ball and yet Odahving could not help but express uneasiness when he gazed at it.

_**shizuka ni shizuka ni maku wa kiri otoshi**__**  
>kakusei no yoake ni aoi honoo<strong>__**  
>"Mamoritai anata" ni deaeru sono hi made wa<strong>__**  
>yuushuu no bi yori me no mae no teki wo<strong>_

_**kokoro nai kotoba hokosaki subete wo nomikomi aruita**_

_**tsukareta fushin wa jishin ni neji mage**_

_**Quietly, quietly, night's curtain is being scythed,**__**  
>as a sapphire flare appears in the dawn sky of awakening.<strong>__**  
>Until the day when I finally meet you, whom I wish to protect,<strong>__**  
>rather than wait for that wonderful finale, I'll have to crush my current enemy.<strong>_

_**Swallowing down all the sharp thoughtless words, I kept walking,**_

_**bending forcefully my effete mistrust into self-confidence.**_

'_World Eater. That boy has created a very unique power indeed. I must say his talent in cooking has also made him very good in creating new ways of combat. The Dragon Resurrection Shout. The Meteor Storm Shout. The Shroud of Mist Shout. His own mastery of Soul Focus. Gospel. Lucifer. A death-induced singularity. And finally World Eater...,' Time thought to himself as his all-knowing eyes watched the scene play out. 'All he needs is a second more. Or maybe I miscalculated the waiting time...Never mind, the boy should be able to handle it...' Time assured himself as he continued to enjoy the show._

"World Eater..." Alduin explained to the shocked Odahving. "Wh...What?" Odahving stammered, his eyes widening at the mention of the name. "But you couldn't have been able to get the hourglass! How did you...?"

"I had help." Alduin mentally thanked the ancient man as his night-black eyes focused onto his adversary, who was now taking cautious steps back. "This technique isn't at its full potential so the effects on you will not be permanent. But you can't escape from its maw..."

"Maw?" Alduin could feel the corner of his parched mouth slowly arch up at Odahving's questioning look. "You will see soon enough..."

Odahving gawked as Alduin's mouth neared the tiny glowing ball, almost close enough to kiss. And then he whispered a few barely audible words. Instructions, to be exact.

'_Here it comes.'_

_**kurushikute nigetakute ma ga sashita mirai wa**__**  
>yume egaita bokura to tooi tokoro de<strong>__**  
>jikan nante yoso nante kechirashite hohoenda<strong>__**  
>ano koro nani mo kowaku nakattaro?<strong>_

_**The runaway future, having succumbed to the pains,**__**  
>is now at a place faraway from us, who are still sketching our dreams.<strong>__**  
>We used to not care about time or place, and laugh wholeheartedly;<strong>__**  
>back then, there was nothing for us to fear, right?<strong>_

"Go, _Seikai Hachikui_..."

SPEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW! In response, the ball became to tremble as Alduin removed his fingers he had enclosed around it. Once his fingers were gone, the ball immediately began to expand, the green concentration of light seemingly struggling against its Soul Focus translucent black coat. A high-pitched screech rang through the air, sending pressure throughout the area, even forcing Odahving to briefly cover himself with his arms. Taking a step back, Alduin watched on. _And so was Time._

"_The most impressive ability I have ever seen in my life. The name World Eater misleads its victims into thinking it as an incredibly powerful Destruction Spell...However that assumption is far from the real truth..." _

_Time brushed his long beard, remembering the time when he analysed the technique from the hourglass. He remembered the enormous surprise he had when he tried to use it. After that, he managed to get a very interesting conversation._

"_World Eater...Seikai Hachikui...Smart change of name, my boy..."_

Alduin's smile grew into a grin as the gales begun to pick up. But this time it wasn't from his own presence. It was due to whatever was inside the ball. As the ball grew to his height, the wind was now taken over by rushing tempests of green energy, whirring around the now stable ball. As for Odahving, his eyes were wide in shock to the size of dinnerplates, his inability to comprehend what was happening not only stealing his ability to retaliate, but even run.

"_I never thought the age of things around the technique was meant to be ammunition..."_

Sshhhhhh...A blood-curdling slytherine like sound could be heard inside. "What...is inside...?" Odahving stuttered as he felt his knees shake of fear from an unknown cause. Alduin narrowed his eyes, his heart secretly begging that the time was right. Only 10 seconds left...If he could pull this off just right, then Death City would be safely away and Odahving wouldn't even be left unhurt.

7 seconds.

"_I see...you are making a distraction...The age of a few blades of grass wouldn't be enough to initiate the full spell..."_

Alduin felt the contract in his left pocket begun to shake. And the crystal box in his right was shaking even more so. Furthermore, he could feel its bounce against his jeans and at that very moment realised that it was generating heat. Not a lot but something was definitely happening.

Suddenly he realised that the wind was dying down. The sphere was beginning to shrink. 'No! It's running out too quick!'

"Eh?" Much to Alduin's horror, Odahving seemed to have noticed it too. In an instant, Odahving's eyes frowned, clearly understanding what was happening. "Another ruse?" Odahving, his mouth agape in realisation, began to shake in now burning fury.

5 seconds.

His wings extended fully, Odahving begun a headlong charge towards Alduin, simply taking a sidestep to avoid the now half-his-size energy sphere. His pupils, now feral and full of rage, were dead-locked onto Alduin, who was so shocked by the turning of the tables that his feet was rooted to the ground. "DAMN YOU!" Odahving's roar resounded over the whirring sound of the three crests: Ira, Avarice and Humanitas; as they rose up from Alduin's hand and his pocket, they begun to spiral around each other in a triangular formation, emitting red, dirty green, white rays of light respectively. However, Alduin was now more worried by the closing in Kishin, his mind now blank and out of ideas. "I HAVE YOU NOW!"

"SCREEEECCCHHHH ALPHA!"

4 seconds.

YAARGGHHHH! An ear-piercing screech cut through the very air as a long thin mouth-like projectile shot through the air, a sonic boom even signalling its approach. Its owner, the pink-haired Crona, stood from the top of the DWMA, his dull green eyes shooting daggers at hiss target while he held the screeching Ragnorok in his gauntlet hand. "Tsk!" Odahving cursed as he deftly dodged out of the way. But he soon saw it was a mistake to dodge.

As if it was what Crona had intended, the black screaming projectile charged headfirst into the green World Eater sphere, just centimetres away from the in-range Odahving."No!" But he was too late. Once close, the Screech Alpha's square-like teeth took out a bite at the sphere, breaking through the limiting black fire coat. That was as far as it could get.

3 seconds.

BOOM! No longer held back by the coat, the green energy burst out like a broken dam, targeting straight for the nearest viable victim. Who has conveniently been Odahving. "Damn!" In an attempt to escape, Odahving broke off his charge towards Alduin and with a rapid frantic beating of his spiked wings, shot up into the air. But like Alduin had guaranteed, the energy's maw came after him.

The energy looked similar to Crona's Screech Alpha, sporting a long serpentine trail behind it and then a head. The head however was radically different. From what looked like bones around its draconic face, the energy spurted even more green energy: a mane to be exact. Its maw, having a colossal number of 10 rows of sharp shark-like teeth, snapped relentlessly at Odahving, the beast-like attack making a beeline for the fleeing Kishin. Meanwhile, the crest are now spinning at a much faster rate, such that all one could see was a blur of spinning hollow circle with flashes of red, dirty green and white.

2 seconds.

"Arondight!" Odahving commanded. In a flash, his after-image dispersed and he appeared some distance away from the attack literally on his tail. However, even the speed of darkness couldn't help him. Its all-green eyes seemingly giving the far-away Odahving a glance, the beast charged into the air and broke through it. Meaning it broke through the fabric of space-time itself. As if it had just teleported, the beast popped out from a brief worm-hole, right beside its totally shocked target. "How-"

Odahving wasn't given time to ask. Its mouth opening wide enough to eat up the entirety to the DWMA, the technique swallowed the off-guard Odahving in one 'little' bite. A loud satisfactory sound of cracking could be heard as its ten rows of teeth clashed against each other and a giant shockwave shot through the air, blowing down the gawking Crona down from his position on the top of the DWMA. "Amazing..." Crona muttered as he landed on the school grounds with the agility of a cat.

As for Alduin, he wasn't that impressed. But he was thankful as he gave a thankful glance to the pink-haired meister. "You just saved your own city..." he silently mouthed to the far away boy.

1 second.

"AAHHHHH!" Odahving's yells could be heard within the technique as the beast now begun to coil around its self, turning into a circular disk-like energy structure. Slowly but surely, Odahving's voice was not only getting more tired, but was now sounding older with each passing second. The technique was passing the accumulated age of the grass to him.

By now, the crests seemed to have reached their maximum rotational speed and forks of white-yellow lightning, blazes of ruby-red fire, torrents of aquamarine water, and typhoons of translucent green air were being emitted from the now glowing circle in a massive ring of elements. Alduin felt something flutter away from his pocket and gasped as the contract flew straight from his pocket towards the spinning circle.

0 seconds.

"_Contract completed..." Time acknowledged._

At that very moment, the contract entered the center of the circle. And then it crumpled into a ball.

What sort of ball, my dear readers?

Well, let's just say it was just a very dense ball. Dense enough to distort space.

As he beheld the spatial twisting and turning of the area around the little tiny sphere and its Saturn-like rings of elements and crests, Alduin's eyes could not help but notice that their lids were getting heavy. He soon realised that he was about to fall asleep. Giving a tired glance towards the girl he had laid on the ground nearby, he could not help but smile at the snoring of the DJ girl called Cyril.

"I guess you are just fastening our seatbelts for us...YAAAAAAWNNNNN!" With a final yawn, Alduin stumbled towards the sound asleep Cyril and then landed beside her prone body, his eyes closing into a sleepy abyss. Soon he was sound asleep.

_Time could not help but giggle, albeit sleepily. "Thank you for travelling via Time YAAAAWWNNNNN Airlines! We hope you have a YAWWWNNNN pleasant nap, I mean, flight..."_

**Sorry action-go-getters this will be the end of the action for now. You guys got a tiny tiny look at World Eater's true nature. And congrats to Crona for being the second of the victims to wake up.  
>The first prize goes to: RAGNAROK! Gupi gupi gupi...<strong>

**It's been a very refreshing experience with these few chapters and thanks to everyone for their favorites, views and especially to Despicable and Spartan for their reviews! To those who did read but didn't review, that's okay! I'm not an attention whore (*secretly* actually to tell you the truth, I am guilty of that sometimes*secretly*). Anyway! Next chapter will be a (not-so) brief guidelines to those who wish to have their own OCs in this story.**

**Alduin: Just make sure they don't stink!**

**A.D.: Alduin! Submissions don't stink! They are in digital form; they can't be smelled!**

**Gospel: And that they are all couples!**

**A.D.: Gospel! I can't handle that much romance, yuri, yaoi or whatever love!**

**Xeal: And they don't bother me!**

**A.D.: You are an OC yourself!**

**Odahving: (quote from a book) Action is eloquence!**

**A.D.: Do you even know what that means?**

**Lucifer: A piece of advice to all those out there. Rule No 1: No Mary-Sues.**

**A.D.: FINALLY SOME GOOD ADVICE!**

**Excalibur: Rule No 2: All OCs must present Excalibur with the finest of the finest biographies. Else you are a...**

**Everyone:FOOOOLLL !**

**Arondight: GENUIS! (Everyone: NO!)**


	73. Odahving Chapter 24

How long has he been floating in here?

Maybe a few hours. He could not help but laugh to himself.

Well, those few hours are feeling like centuries right now.

His eyes blinked but his vision remained dark. His ears perked up but his hearing was negative. His skin twitched yet his touch was numb. Even an attempt to taste the very air led to nothing but dry tastebuds. 'Is this hell?' Stein mentally thought as his hands attempted to feel for his glasses propped on his nose but the lack of a sense of touch only made him poke around, unable to know whether he had touched it or not. Frowning in frustration, the good professor gave out a yell of anger but his voice didn't come out no matter how much he stressed his voicebox.

"Hell?" A voice, its malevolent tone amused and disembodied, resounded through the empty darkness. Stein gasped but again no sound came out. Why? What's happening? "This isn't hell. You are just in the center of Chaos...My Chaos..." The voice was like that of a young man, one whose thoughts had been turned chaotic from excessive testosterone. Yet, the voice was also powerful, intrusive. Stein winced and shook his head in a daze as he felt something to enter his ear.

'You...' Stein's hand went for his head-screw but touch has left him once again, making him unable to distinguish hair, head and screw. He can't feel. He can't see. He can't hear. He can't taste. He can't speak. He was in a true five-fold darkness. And part of him feels that it might be even more than that. "Scared? You should be in here. To be brave is nothing more than a denial of yourself. And in this plane, that can be fatal."

Stein's body could only shake in place. Within his mind, it was true that fear for the unknown area around him was being bred. At the same time, it was also providing a distorted version of thrill. Excitement. Curious interest for this place. "Who are you?" Stein thought back to the teenage-like voice.

The sinister voice gave a hoot of laughter, enough to not only make Stein shiver both in fear and in trepidation. "Who am I? An interesting question...While I am not actually here physically, my fragments have been able to reach you. I must say, I am surprised that Odahving would choose you." Stein blinked blankly at the statement. Possibilities flowed through his head, the first of which was Asura. But that was scrapped instantly. Asura wasn't this strong. No Name? Impossible, he should still be in Antartica. Eibon? No, definitely not.

Maybe it was the influence of the penetrating voice but within a matter of seconds, all possibilities were looked over and proven wrong.

The voice paused for a while, waiting patiently for Stein's answer. "Well?" It asked with minor amusement. "How about a gamble? A guess? Those type of games are always so fun with their chaotic nature! Randomness! Total utter randomness!" Chaos? Stein heard that word a total of three times. Then his mind immediately looked back and an image flashed across his mental eyes. It was the giant malevolent chaotic soul in space, heading straight for Earth.

"Bingo, Mr. Doctor!" The voice acknowledged in proud glee, sniggering at the little game he had just played. "My name is Chaos!"

"Chaos?" Stein muttered as he allowed the name to sink in. An uncontrollable sneer spread across his face, much to his own surprise. Why? Why is he so excited about this entity? A monstrosity like this and yet he is being thrilled by it?

Suddenly the voice spoke again, but this time instead of a playful adolescent, it was now that of a serious adult male. However, despite the change, the tint of enjoyment and sadism was still in it. "Of course, you want more. They always want more. I am the embodiment of total random destruction. I am the being that will destroy all and then rebuild all. The one who experiences all possibilities through chaotic. The Mad Destroyer. My name is Chaos. My name is Hoj. My name is Goud. My name is Feryni. My name is Hun-."

Then the voice suddenly sputtered before it could continue. "Damn...bit my tongue..." Sweat-drop.

"Where am I? If this is chaos, why is it so simple?" Stein asked through his mind, his interest reaching to near irresistible. The sinister voice barely stifled a laugh, before returning in its adolescent version. "You know when one is in the middle of a catastrophe cataclysm, all of one's senses are utterly blinded, deafened, overwhelmed, destroyed by the total chaotic nature of the happenings around them. This plane is made to simulate that. And to add the sweet little cherry on the top of the cake, it also makes normal beings unable to find the voice to speak. Just like when one is stunned, one can't talk. Right now, only my voice can be heard in this chaotic dark space."

"Amazing, isn't it?" Stein's eyes narrowing, he wondered at the apparent cheerfulness of the being. Somehow that very optimism in the voice seemed to appeal him, making the doctor want to walk towards wherever that

"Now where are you from? Let's see...Nirn, Mars, Pluto, Tooroh, Uyjkam, Zubur, Xem..." The voice seemed to be looking through a list of planets. Though some sounded like different dimensions than planets. "Ah! Earth!" The voice cheered as it rolled up whatever list it was using. "It's been a long time since I've touched Earth. If memory serves me right, I was then playing a game of asteroid tennis with myself just a few trillion kilometres away. And at the most random moment, an asteroid I shot strayed in the most chaotic path I've ever seen since the day before. It was so intriguing to see how random it got when it collided with Earth. I think that was about 65 million years ago...Ah WELL, who knew that by some random chance I would have to fight my brother on the exact planet! It's so amazingly chaotic!"

'What do you intend to do with me?' Stein tried to ignore the fact that this being was the one responsible for the extinction of a certain reptile and asked on. Right now, this phenomenon, this entity has shown itself to be vastly powerful. Not only that the very existence of the being is not just drawing his mind in. It was also beckoning to his madness. Almost making him want to...

"Dissect me, right?" the voice replied, its amused tone unnerving and stimulating at the same time. "You are a very interesting mortal, Stein. Mortal but interesting. I like that. Your madness...your unsatiable desire to dissect...you hate it, yet you allow it to endure at the same time. Your madness of Knowledge. Your lust to be in the know. Even endangered animals tremble when you walk by, knowing full well that those so-called protective regulations and classifications can't stop your desire. And so do you. One moment you are the good doctor and teacher with a tint of sadism, the next you are a mad surgeon who will dissect his way to all-knowingness... Just right up my alley..."

Stein cringed at the words, a pained expression on his numbing face, his deadened skin not even able to feel his facial muscles. He had been trying all the time to get rid of that little piece of madness growing within him and had researched every countermeasure to find the one that was truly effective. However, this search for a 'cure' only served to strengthen his madness, driving him to prey for knowledge even more. Like a starved predator, he could feel the desperation, the viciousness growing within him day by day. Sometimes, when there are reports of Kishin attacks, somewhere in the back of his mind, Stein would wonder whether it was one of the times when he was "sleepwalking". That possibility scared him to his very core. And when he has to go and teach, the unsuspecting smiles of his students only made him feel even worse.

"Frustrated, good doctor? Hearing that perennial static of that old gramophone? I'm sure you do." Stein gasped as for a split-second, his ears could hear again. But what he heard, even in such a brief amount of time, made him begun to feel bilious, one of his hand heading frantically for his ears while the other tried to stop him from puking out his lunch. Chi ci Chi ci chiiiii chi ci chiiii. That static. Stein immediately knew where it came from. Memories of an ancient oak gramophone, sitting alone on a little mahogany table, came to him. The gramophone tried to sing, tried to play, tried to show its voice, but in the end, it could give out a weak static-like stutter.

"Because it fears that its true voice will declare its horrendous nature. That it was a demon in a gramophone's clothing." Chaos intercepted Stein's thoughts, giving a brief snicker. "The reason you lived in such a scary house was because you know no one would even willingly walk near it. Your sadistic doctor image is a cover-up to scare away kids who get too close. You would give the most ridiculous suggestions so that when anyone has a problem, you would be the last one they would think about. Am I right, Mr. Franken Stein? Or rather, Mr. Ein Stein?"

After being in the entity's omninescient presence for so long, Stein was not surprised that Chaos knew his real name. A name he had abandoned in exchange for one that he felt was truly his. Frankenstein's. Monster.

Chao's teenager voice disappeared, this time replaced by the voice of an old seemingly caring elder male, his words now much more reserved and...family-like. "Mr. Ein, I don't just seek out to help you out of this ordeal, but everyone whose true nature has led them to hide away. Help me and I will return the favour. I will erase that madness within you and then I will erase any history of it ever existing. You will no longer need to hide in the dark shadows of the discriminated. You will be a man free, no more bound by his past and his misdeeds, a redeemed man. And then you can further help out others by also removing the regretful things they did from history. Assist Odahving in a new world, a new universe that will follow the path of Chaos. Where all is free and none are bound. Where all are truly allowed to become naturally chaotic. Pull back the universe from its complicated now and return it to its normal natural state."

Stein's mind was void of thoughts as he allowed Chaos' incredibly assertive words to sink in, his eyes widening at the words "free", "no more bound", "natural".

And then when Chaos waited patiently for him, Stein's answer came swift.

Yes.


	74. Odahving Chapter 25

How does it feel like when one teleports?

Much to his mind's surprise, Alduin, while sleeping, could still 'see' what was happening around the now floating Death City. A multitude of flashes of colours passed by them as the floating city zoomed through what looked like a distorted wormhole at incredible speeds. Despite the speed they were moving, the city was miraculously stable, without a single tremble reverberating through the floor. As he subconsciously watched the brilliant aurora created by the passing lights, Alduin gasped at what his sharp black eyes spotted in some of the flashes. Some of the images he recognized, others he was just fascinated by.

First of all, he spotted, even if for a split second, Nirn, or what was left of it. A mere hollow sphere of ominous dark-blue, it had been turned into a husk of its former self. No forests, mountains, snow, rain, water, clouds nor even earth. One thing was for sure, no living thing was left on it. Alduin could not help but cring at the failure of his 'revolution'. To think that he had been the cause of all that. Thank goodness, his dad froze himself and the other gods away; else they surely wouldn't have survived. With that in mind, his eyes narrowed onto the culprit of his planet's destruction: the unmissable giant angelic wing extending out of the planet horizon. Order...

The next moment, Alduin was looking at what looked like a boy looking left and right, a confused yet interested expression on his face. The sight was too brief to see what the child exactly looked Alduin noticed his arms clinging tightly onto an old book in his arms.

"Mama?" Mama? What was he talking about?

Before he could scan it closer, the image disappeared in a flash of particles and another took its place.

This time, Alduin gawked in awe at what looked like a glowing humanoid figure, its features blocked out by the near-blinding light coating it. Alduin could only spot the faint blue silhouette within, its arms wrapped around its legs as it took a protective foetal position. "Al...Al...Hum...Tha..." Its soft wavering voice, disembodied and high-pitched, shocked Alduin, prompting his mind to telepathically ask. "Who are you?" But the city zoomed past it before he could get an answer.

Up next was an image of a scene. It was a scene in a field beside what looked like a destroyed house, smoke billowing out its bare remains. Standing in the middle of the field, was a man. His hair, braided in a Chinese ponytail that reached down till his waist, was black as the sad midnight itself and his bloodshot eyes, one pupil ever-changing in colour and the other black, had tears under them. Beside his tall white-clothed body, embedded into the ground, was a claymore. One Alduin instantly recognized.

Lucifer.

Alduin gawked at the standing human/god form of his late weapon, while his mental eyes widened at the unprecedented sight of tears rolling down Lucifer's depressed face. What was he crying about? Then Alduin gazed towards Lucifer's arms and gave a shocked gasp. What Alduin had first perceived as a bundle of cloth within Lucifer's arms was actually a body. Its features blocked out by the covering blood-stained fabric, Alduin could only guess from its shape that Lucifer was holding a woman in his arms. But who?

Froom! Like the other before it, the particle image dematerialized as the city flew past it, leaving Alduin's question sorely unanswered. 'What was next?' he thought in reluctant anticipation as he looked out for more. Not sure he might not like what he would see next.

And he was right; the final image Alduin's eyes caught shook him to the core.

The void of Time.

As if on cue, memories began pouring out into his mind, instantly reminding the boy of his maddening 200 years' imprisonment in the indescribable emptiness of the dimension of Time. The Elder Scrolls did indeed transport him 200 years into the future, but the method of time travel was something he had fatally miscalculated. Instead of an instant movement to 200 years later, Alduin was left frozen, ageless and timeless, inside that infernal place, where nothing else except him exists. 200 years of doing absolutely nothing but flowing in the space of time. A space where not even colour, sound, any element existed. It wasn't like pitch black darkness. That space didn't even have black in it. A year in there can be considered as soul-searching; 10 years would be a hardcore meditation appointment, 30 would be a complete mental overhaul twice over.

But 200 years? 2 centuries?

_Dannik_...

Dragon tongue for Doomed...

The madness tendrils within him was a reminder of that. Even now they dance in glee at the sight of their origin. With those hated memories of that torturous, maddening period swirling like a disastrous whirlpool, Alduin wished one, two, three, an infinite number of times that his eyes never laid upon that hellish endless void. His mind closing off its tortured mental eyes, he could feel a tremendous sigh of relief wash over him, as if a mountain had been lifted off his shoulders. But that 'mountain' had left behind a ghastly impression on him, scarring his very soul. For a second he was sure that the madness was about to pounce on him in this time of weakness.

"Calm yourself...Stay strong..."

An old man's voice.

One that Alduin was familiar enough to feel tears crawl up his sleeping eyes. "Dad..." He muttered with a pained voice, his sadness peaking. But his father's voice was always so powerful, so persuasive that at the wake of his radiating encouragement, the madness retreated at the last second. As his parasitic fire of fear was extinguished by the engulfing tidal wave of his Akatosh's voice, Alduin's consoled mind braved to open its eyes again, saying a silent thank you to his helpful dad.

This time, its eyes was now gazing into what looked like a bright light at the end of the wormhole. It sparkled and shimmered in a colorful myriad of chrome yellow, ruby red and then white. White as snow. Wait a minute...Snow?

Just like the several unanswered questions, Alduin didn't have time to look into this one. In a brilliant flash, Death City entered the light.

And the teleportation ended. Darkness followed in his vision.

**Meanwhile...**

In the middle of the desert once inhabited by the battle-filled Death City, a giant circle of valleys surrounded the elevated flat piece of land where the city once stood. Hovering right above its center was the lenticular disk of harlequin-green energy, spiraling towards the center, where its screaming captive was still imprisoned in. Suddenly a black sphere emerged out of nowhere, positioned right below the disk. The space around it begun to distort around it, streaking towards it like water would with a whirlpool. Then, cracking his numb knuckles and casually playing with yellow Soul Force/Menace electricity, Professor Ein Stein strided out of the spatial distortion, using his finger to push up his round glasses while the sphere shrunk out of existence.

The new Chaos doctor's clothes remained true to his scientist background; it was composed of a doctor's lab coat and a tight-fitting stitch-themed turtle neck and denim jeans. However unlike his usual white coat, the colour of this new lab coat with a chin-high collar was black and instead of stitches, there were cracks like that of glass. And in the very back was the mark of Chaos: an image of swallowing black hole. Stein, a wide grin across his face, gave his now energized muscles a flex. As if it was purely reflex, brief but powerful forks of Soul Menace lightning spouted out of his arms, striking against the ground and upturning rocks and soil. Once the effect subsided, several charred spots of smoldering earth around him showed off his new power.

"Interesting Chaos strength..." Stein smirked as he closely examined his arm, his Madness of Knowledge pushing him to dissect his very arm for a closer look at how much stronger he was. What powers did Chaos give? What was the basis of his newfound strength? How far can his Soul Menace go? How will he fare against his now student-turned-enemies? As these ever-growing number of questions accumulate, Stein's madness feasted upon the seemingly lack of knowledge the questions seem to indicate, growing more ravenous for its apple of Knowledge. But this desire was soon interrupted by the roar of Odahving.

With an almighty immutable roar, the red-haired Kishin began to summon the black clouds of his influence. As they billowed about and surrounded the disk prison of energy, Stein looked on amusingly at the scene.

"UNDEFINED SPACE!"

BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM! Like a huge super-compressed version of the Tsar Bomba, a simply vast sphere of chaotic darkness burst out of the disk, engulfing an area of at least a kilometer wide in length. As its size easily blocked out the now relatively diminutive desert sun, the spouting of black darkness resulted in rain-like droplets of darkness spreading across the immediate area. As one of these 'rain droplets' fell into Stein's open palm, his green eyes stared quizzically at it, wondering what element the droplet was made of. Before he could dissect it though, the droplet dissipated into thin air. His madness unsated, Stein became irritated.

"SOUL MENACING BOLT!" Stretching his palm towards the horizon, Stein shot out a bolt of Soul Menace electricity. This electric bolt, unlike the normal lightning, was particularly condensed and its lightning forks crackled in a chaotic manner. As it slowly shot towards the ground, the lightning began to get to work. The electricity seeking out for metals within the ground, the bolt begun to get covered ina random assortment of metallic elements, growing bigger and bigger. By the time it smashed into the breaking ground in a sparky explosion, it was big enough to easily match Stein's already tall stature. A wiry satisfied grin across his face, Stein now focused his attention to the Undefined Space explosion.

As its effects ended, the ball of darkness shrunk as pillars of its energy rose up towards the air, fading away as they did. While the darkness dispersed away, Odahving was revealed from within. He was now taller, older-looking, his scowling face even possessing wrinkles along with its balding white hair. As he floated down towards the waiting Stein, Stein gazed in funny amusement at the bags of skin hanging across the Kishin's now 100-year old face. Apparently the age of the grass used was equivalent to that of eighty years. Not liking his now new age, Odahving gave a fierce serious expression, his old pruney-like fingers tightening their grip around his two now rusty swords, Arondight and the Ebony Blade. "Damn Alduin..." He cursed in front of the giggling Stein, who could not help it in the face of such a hilarious look.

"Shut it!" Odahving gave a wrathful warning to the good doctor, who burst out in even more laughter at the sight of an elderly man threatening him with two rusty swords. As he carelessly extended his hands to grab Odahving's Arondight, Stein instantly knew he had made a mistake.

"Shredding Space!" Disappearing in a wave of after-images, Odahving dealt the off-guard Stein literally hundreds of sword-slices. While there were still random strikes everywhere, Odahving's accuracy with the massacring technique had improved tremendously. His mind barely able to register the pain, the shocked Stein fell to his knees, while the tantrum-throwing Odahving appeared back from his speed-blitz, giving a huff of anger to his injured subordinate. Not only that, moving at the speed of darkness seemed to have bent the time around him and when he had appeared, Odahving was his 17-year-old self once again, with the green particles of age removing themselves off his body. As he nonchalantly watched red blood flowing down his comrade's coat, Odahving gave a brief 'tsk' as he turned and begun to walk away. "Laugh at me again and you will die..."

Beads of painful sweat across his forehead, Stein cursed his carelessness as he lifted himself back up, giving out grunts of pain. Trying to ignore the agonizing pain across his assaulted body, Stein stumbled towards the walking Odahving, barely able to get to his side without fainting. As his wounds begun to close up with natural stitches, Stein's gait changed from a painful hobble to a cautious walk, the scientist careful around his new superior.

Without giving Stein a single acknowledging glance, Odahving asked a question. "So you have decided to join our side, huh?"

Stein could only nod back, his face cringing in lurking pain.

Odahving smiled in sarcastic appreciation. "Good..."

As they begun to walk out of the canyon and towards the mountains surrounding the desert, Stein's madness prompted him to ask next. "So where are we going?"

Odahving was quick to answer. "After Alduin. We may not know where he is but we will hunt and drag him down from his throne. At the same time, we must focus on the conversion of the planet into a Chaos stronghold..." Stein's eyes widened in awe at an even more malicious smirk reaching from ear-to-ear. "What are you planning, Odahving?"

"Nothing much, my new _partner..."_ Odahving forced the last word out reluctantly, showing clear resentment for the word. Stein could only know too well why. A small careful smirk crawled up his face at the thought of the knowledge Chaos had passed to him.

"We just need to pay a visit to Antarctica..."

"And to an 1000-year old Death Scythe..."

**Teleportation and movement of the Chaos team complete! And some of you who have followed the story faithfully, you may get what Odahving was truly referring to. If you don't, read on then! Please review! Oh and those who have followed this story, you probably noticed but I will be updating every 2 days instead of everyday. Sorry and I will ensure I give quality work.**


	75. Odahving Chapter 26

His swirling white wings accompanying him as they have for the past billions of years, Order sat in his now floating sphere of a throne, the communication device wrenched of its original stand by his presence alone. As his massive light-coated form hovered over it, his eyes, miniature blue suns, gazed over the arena-like area of the Divine Halls that had been..."altered"...for his personal purposes. While his angelic form sat at the elevated spectating circular area, he could not help but have a mild smug smile, blurred out by his distorting white coat of brilliance.

Standing in the middle of the fighting area, was a man. Standing well over 2 metres tall, the adult male had arms easily the size of a bear's and his bare upper body was toned with an intimidating ten pack. As his silver long hair hang towards the small of his back, the fighter's eyes, white like polished pearls, were focused on the five other combatants that Order has brought in. The ground trembling at their steps, the five giants, their luminescent blue eyes showing a mix of fear and anger, circled with scared unease their lone unusual human-looking opponent, their 7-metre stature easily casting shadows over him. His muscular yet agile-looking legs, draped in tight white combat pants, took deliberate and casual steps as the man, his hair now flying in the rising draft, smirked at the apprehensive giants.

"Music, please!" Order requested in a whisper as he 'sat back' and watched on, his six eyes each occupied with one combatant in this little orderly 'game'. At the order of his powerful echoing voice, a slow soft song begun to play in the air, prompting Order's cloud-like wings to dance in tandem. But as the fight was about to play out, the following tempo begun to speed up and soon what was supposed to be melody became combat music. Order could not help but smile maliciously.

**Music: Philistine. "No More Heroes 2" Margeret Boss Theme.**

"**Reaper, Reaper", that's what people call me! Why?**

One of the towering giants, no doubt the boldest, took the first step. Raising its club over its head, it did a classic smash down towards the seemingly caught-off-guard man. BOOOM! As the man disappeared under the shadow of the wooden club, a cloud of dust appeared, blurring the battle scene.

"The most foolish..." Order grinned.

"Hurh..." The giant's blue eyes, glowing through the dust screen, now seemed to widen, as if in shock. Order could only know too well why. With a blink of his eyes, the annoying dust was dispersed and the battle field was once again free of vision-impeding impurities. Order's blazing blue suns stared on in amusement at the giant's club. Despite the apparently massive strength of the giant, the man stood under the club unharmed, his eyes hidden under his flowing river of hair. Furthermore, the silver-haired male was holding against the giant's club. With just one of his finger.

To be more precise, his little pinky.

**'Cause they all die!**

The man raised his head, allowing the panicking giant to stare deep into his own heterochromatic pupils. One of them, pure white. The other, the white cross-like shape of a distant star. "My sign..." Order murmured pridefully, a literally beaming smile spreading across his face. As the bold giant remained too stunned to pull back his club, the man's other unoccupied hand clenched into a vein-showing fist and in one powerful movement, sent an uppercut up the giant's chin. Like the many times it had sent adventurers flying into the air, the giant was to follow that fate. BANG! The force behind the upper-cut no doubt incredible, the giant shot up straight into the sky, its large form growing smaller and smaller as it disappeared further into this abyssal sky, never to be seen again.

One down. Four more to go. Order could not help but giggle at the sight. His work was just simply perfect.

Their forms stunned still by the sudden defeat of their careless comrade, the giants gazed at one another, unsure whether to attack the individual still waiting for another fight. Then, as their tense bodies relaxed, the giants advanced all at the same time, intending to use teamwork this time. 'Pathetic.' Order thought in revulsion.

**When I sing, I end their lives!**

**You act as though payback makes you a noble man!**

As one of the giants took a swing at him, the silver-haired man jumped up, the crude club easily missing him. Then, in an attempt to trap him, another giant punched towards his midair and supposedly unable-to-move body. It was a fatal mistake, one that it will find out too late.

As the as-large-as-his-body gray-skinned fist came hurtling towards the right side of his body, the man's right hand thumb and middle finger touched each other. Suddenly, an electric-like crackle could be heard cutting the air as brilliant white energy begun to spout out from between. Then as the fingers separated and stretched out, a white energy spear about his height was produced in front of his open palm in an instant. The punching giant noticed the new weapon but by then, its fist was already too close to be pulled back.

Like a knife would cut through butter, the very side of the energy spear bisected right through the thick-skinned hand and then continued on with the giant's entire arm, before being pulled back by the silver-haired man. As the two horrific halves, still gruesomely connected to shoulder, flabbily drooped down, blood spurted out like stunning red fountains across the entire arm. The giant and its brothers, the former too shocked to even register the pain, watched as the fleshy pieces slapped against the giant's side.

**Is that a fact?****  
><strong>**Well, you're a goddamn Philistine!**

SHINK! Taking advantage of the giants' surprise, the man flashed a small grin as he gave his in-hand energy spear a swing, loping off the wounded giant's head. The attack was so fast, that the giant's hands seemed to feel for where its missing head was supposed to be, which had flown off and dropped a few metres behind it. Finally, a geyser of red shot out of its severed neck and the mighty body fell over with a loud thud, the ground even trembling at its fall. Another one of their brethren so swiftly slaughtered, the three left stared in terrible fear at the levitating man, who showed no sign of apprehension at his brutal methods. Order could not help but laugh hysterically at the giants. His taunting and reverberating laughter burst out even more when panic-attacks ran through the poor beings and they attacked with panicked frenzy, afraid to let themselves be killed like that.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! One massive club after another descended upon the man but the being was nimble and lithe, effortlessly dodging and weaving his way through the barrage of club smashes. As the arena ground begun to break under the collective onslaught of the giants, Order briefly scowled at the destruction of his perfect battleground. He can't afford such a deviation of his perfection. Out of order. "Finish it." He hissed.

As if his master's soft voice had reached his ears, the man flew up into the air, jets of propelling white underneath his combat boots. While the giants gawked in fear-struck awe at the holy warrior high above, the man raised out both of his hands in front of him. Then after crossing his middle and index fingers, the man, now scarily expressionless, clasped the two hands together, allowing the crossed fingers to connect. Like the spear-forming technique from before, waves of white energy spurted out from between the fingers, this time in more generous quantities.

**"Reaper, Reaper", that's what people call me! Why?****  
><strong>**'Cause they all die!****  
><strong>**When I sing, I end their lives****  
><strong>**You act as though payback makes you a noble man****  
><strong>**Is that a fact?****  
><strong>**Well, you're a goddamn Philistine!**

"Tasu..." The man's deep voice, near inaudible and lacking feeling of any kind, breathed out the word and allowed his fingers to separated, his arms extending out to his sides. In between, a wire-thin white line was formed, stretching from one hand to the other. For a while, nothing seemed to happen, as the man floated there with his line. The giants wondered what went wrong and two of them slowly let down their earlier raised guard. "Idiots..." Order sneered.

"Yari..." SHINGGGGG! A high-pitched ring could be heard reverberating through the air, much to the giants' aghast. The white line of light begun to shimmer at several points and the frequency of said splendid flashes increased more and more at the shrill of the ring. Its guard still up, one of the giants instinctively rolled out of the way while the other two were stood there stunned.

To die.

**Requiem eternal****  
><strong>**Bullets right through the sternum****  
><strong>**No love bide to Hell's bane****  
><strong>**Reaper's got your name!**

All of the sudden, hundreds of energy spears like the one before them begun to pour out of the now dazzling line, shooting towards the two unforntunate victims at blinding speeds! CHINK CHINK CHINK CHINK CHINK! The giants didn't stand a chance against the massacring mob of weapons. Within moments, the clever one's jaws dropped at its brethren's near-unrecognizable bodies brutally mutilated by the spears, the ground where they stood already covered in a flower field of the energy pikes, with white for their stems and blood-red for their roses.

That giant didn't have much longer to live too. Completely taken over by perpetual terror, the giant threw its club and tried to make a break for it. However, the silver-haired man hadn't forgotten about it; in a brilliant flash, he promptly appeared right in front of the run-away, his piercing eyes telling the giant to stop. Giving a desperate grunt of horror, the giant flung a shaking fist at the man. The bare-chested man simply took a sidestep and the giant's fist sailed beside his body: a clean miss.

**Margaret is Greek, you geek****  
><strong>**It means 'a pearl'; I'm a pure girl****  
><strong>**Boys cannot crack this oyster shell, so go on****  
><strong>**Whip around that sword like you're the best; it's a such a bore****  
><strong>**Another hero! Oh, please!**

With both his hands having their thumb and middle finger touch other, the man stared straight into the giant's vibrating blue pupil and at that moment a silent death penalty had been sentenced. Opening his fingers, the man produced two more energy spears, one in each hand, their trident-like tips pulsing in sheer white light. As if he wanted to give the last survivor a special treat, the man crossed the two spears and then the tips reshaped into blades, transforming from spear to naginata.

Its eyes closing in acceptance of its inevitable fate, the giant sank to its light-skinned knees and hanged its bearded head, waiting for the final blow. And the man complied.

**Another hero! Oh, please!**

The final blow was not one, not two, but a few million strikes. At first his slashes seemed slow but once he started the assault, the naginatas became a blur of light and lightening. In the wake of the slicing maelstrom, the giant's body was cut and cut. Cut and cut. Cut and cut. In what looked like a ridiculously painless execution, the body of the mighty herder of mammoths was reduced to nothing more than a pile of bloody meat cubes, each no bigger than your typical sugar cube. Intestines, liver, lungs, brain, kidneys, muscles. All that was now unrecognizable in their gruesome little cube forms. The only thing left untouched by man, like what a chef would cut out from an animal for his dish, was the giant's still beating heart. With each beat, each weakening contraction, small streams of little red blood spurted out of its severed blood vessels. His clean executioners dissipating into flashes of light, the man walked up towards the heart, the heart's desperate 'lub-dubs' for life playing in the background. With an nonchalant face, he picked it up, letting the organ finally stop its rhythmic beating in the bloody palm of his hand. The man turned to the awaiting Order, who levitated high above in his glimmering sphere of a spectator throne.

"Bring it here..." Order smirked in satisfaction as his warrior appeared before him, his newfound speed making the man no more than a blur. Taking a scornful glance at the devastated arena, one of Order's blazing blue pupils blinked. When it opened again, the arena was once again like before, flat and undamaged. Perfect. Nodding in proud acknowledgement of his order, Order's six eyes then regarded its warrior with even more pride. As the human's face remained expressionless, he outstretched his arms, offering the giant's heart, easily the size of his head, to his master. Actually, correct that. Not human. But a dragon.

"Paarthurnax..." Order gestured to one of his many angelic wings and in response, the wing shot out and snatched the heart out of the converted dragon's hands. Order smacked his lips as he snapped up the heart in one gulp of his large swirling maw. "Not bad..." Order admitted but the taste didn't stick for long. It was just too...metallic-tasting. Giants have now gone to the pest extermination list. As he mentally noted this decision, the man known as Paarthurnax stood there perfectly still, his eyes dull and emotionless.

Order could not help but smile at that sight. After a long time of 'persuading', Order had managed to stamp out that annoying Madness of Hope within his representative. The little...virus had been 'unbeneficial' for Paarthurnax and him. Now thanks to him, his warrior is no more than a hopeless husk, his self-thought blown away like dust and replaced with the utmost trust and belief in his Benevolence. Hope can only create funny ideas and throw off the order. That is what Order believed and hence what Paarthurnax must believe. At the pleasing scene of the dragon-turned-husk's pearly white lackadaisical eyes, Order could not resist laughing.

'AHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As Order's maniacal bouts of laughter rang through the air, Paarthurnax followed his master's example.

"Ha...ha...ha...ha..."

And within his dull, emotionless whispers of laughter, if one listened close enough, one could hear an ever-so-slight wavering in voice, in tone. It was a tiny tint.

It was a tint of sadness.

Order blinked.

BAAAAANGGGGGGG!

**Sad Paarthurnax! Not only is his Madness, which was considered a part of everyone, just crushed like that, all his hope is just thrown away! Hope you like this new change in Paarthurnax and yes, he will be coming to Earth soon. Please review!**


	76. Snippets of Randomess Ep 3 Continue

**Snippets of Randomess. Spin the Bottle Part 3.**

"Such beautiful hair! It's so...sublimely SYMMETRICAL!"

Everybody could not help but face-palmed themselves at Kid's over-enthusiasm at his new hair. Or rather wig. I could only sigh at the sight of the perfectly symmetrical bowl-cut wig, fitted nicely over Kid's bald head. After all, it was the only hairstyle that we could find to be perfectly symmetrical. We had to go through so much trouble getting it.

First of all, we had to spent 10 minutes trying to pry Kid's grateful arms away from the fleeing Lucifer. Then, in order to give the grim reaper boy some dignity, we went around the neighborhood searching for a wig shop AND stop Kid from running around exuberantly showing off his fully symmetrical self. I could still sadly feel that burnt-through hole in my pocket. Not payment for the wigs but compensation for the shops that we went to. Everytime Kid had gazed upon an unsymmetrical wig inside the shop, he had gone all out in an obsessive frenzy and soon enough all wig shops in the now burning neigbourhood had passed away. RIP wig shops. Finally, we just had to go and pay a certain Concept of Time a visit for help and to reverse Kid's baldness.

But instead...

"_I'm sorry little children. But the 1000 laws on me dictate that I am not allowed to reverse time. But if you are really so desperate for hair, then how about I leant you one of my wigs? Hairdressers are just too slow to cut my hair. Every time they do, my hair would grow back within seconds, thanks to the ceaseless flow of Time. Just imagine! Cut one centimetre away and then another kilometer pops out. Wigs are so much more reliable!"_

Now that I think about that, I wonder how much of that "kilometers" hair is under that floppy pajama hat of his. And what color would it be? I glanced towards the black-haired Alduin, the ex-god lying against the bedroom's pure white walls, a bored look on his face. Then he noticed me from the corner of his eye, his black pupil narrowing. "Don't even think about it..." His eyes seem to say.

A shiver went down my spine. This whole "spin the bottle" thing was a mere suggestion to save my own life. If Alduin were to attack me now...

"Alright..." I mouthed to him in a peace-loving way, turning my cowarding eyes away from him. As I felt the piercing stare of Alduin's eyes leave my back, I silently breathed a sigh of relief. That was closer than I would ever want.

Back to the game.

"FOR THE SAKE OF SYMMETRY I WILL MAKE THIS BOTTLE SPIN 8 TIMES! IT WILL SPIN IN A PERFECT CIRCLE, I PROMISE YOU THAT!" After giving his passionate speech of OCD-induced stupidity, Death the Kid placed his hand onto the first of the two bottles. "HERE WE GO!"

With what looked like a calculated twist of hand, Kid sent the bottle spinning. As the wine container spun round and round, everyone stared deeply towards it. We were all counting how many times it spun before it would stop.

2 times.

3 times.

4 times.

The bottle was beginning to slow down. Halfway there.

5 times.

6 times.

The bottle had now slowed to an easy rotation.

7 times.

As the bottle went into a snail-like crawl, everyone now begun to back away as the bottle pointing neck sluggishly passed them by. Nearing its starting position, the bottle was now slow enough to induce lethargy among us, with Alduin even giving out a loud yawn. But Kid was right. He had spun the bottle in a perfect circle. The yellow-eyed boy nodded with proud acknowledgement.

8 times.

Unfortunately fate wasn't in Kid's favour. As it reached its spinning lap point, it passed over it ever so slightly, a minor overshot so tiny that you would probably need a microscope to spot the difference. But it was enough.

"NOOOOOOOOO! I AM GARBAGE! A DISGRACE! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE! I MUST COMMIT SUICIDE AT ONCE!"

"You are annoying..." Extending his ghostly paw, a frowning apparition of Lucifer tightly squeezed Kid's shoulder. His squeeze must have hit a nerve or something, for the screaming boy's eyes rolled up while his body went stiff and fell over, banging against the floor. What the hell was that? Everyone's jaw, including mine, dropped at Lucifer's act of strength. The German Shepherd stared back coolly towards our wide eyes, clearly not really caring about the still boy lying beside him. At first, I feared he would proceed to pee on Kid but the dog simply snak his teeth into Kid's sleeve. Then, with powerful strength, he sent the knocked out grim reaper flying into the bathroom, where he won't trouble anyone for some time.

"Now, shall the person chosen please spin the next bottle?"

I blinked blankly at his request. Person chosen? A moment later, a string of oohs and aahs made me gawk in realization and I turned to take a look at the first bottle. There it was lying on the ground and everyone was hooting and cheering at the person its tip was pointing to.

"What's so great about being in a relationship?" His night-black hair barely reaching his shoulder as always, Alduin's arms were crossed together in front of his chest and he tried to shoo away the incredible amount of attention that the boys were showing to him, teasing him, teaching him what a boy-girl relationship is, even suggesting which girl is good. Of course, Soul tried to suggest every one of the girls except Maka, Black Star attempted to suggest anyone who is not a girl, Xeal was suggesting being a single is good, Lucifer was suggesting asking Time about it and as for me, I simply stayed quiet, observing the ruckus created by the overreacting males. Wonder what sort of strange hormones are running through the veins of these so-called men?

As the din filled the air around him, Alduin was beginning to show an anger mark on his forehead. That ex-god obviously couldn't ignore it anymore. "SHUT UP!" At the vicious roar of his voice, every single boy around him was blown away and when he finally managed to hold back his voice, Alduin's jaw dropped at the sight. I could not help but giggle uncontrollably. Every single male person in the circle had been blown away and now laid about either unconscious or too shocked to come back. Except me of course. That means...

The next bottle will definitely pick a girl.

I scanned at Alduin's options, while the black-haired dragon remained too stunned to start spinning the second bottle. Every single girl had their eyes, some were afraid, others friendly, while a few maybe a bit more. Tsubaki felt unsure whether she should step out of the circle. Cyril, shy to relationships as always, tried to get out but the dual effort by Patty and Liz managed to ground the blonde-haired DJ. Maka was less nervous-looking than the Sound Weapon but her fingers shakily playing with the pages of the book on her lap betrayed her inner thoughts. Gospel, the 13-year-old beautiful as always, was the only one who didn't seemed worried. Instead, she was looking at the other girls, as if analyzing which one was best for her master. She seemed pretty confident that the bottle won't pick her. As her gorgeous wave of silky white hair framed her petite but adorable face, her colour-changing eyes suddenly turned towards me, an unnerving amusement in them.

"Looks like you forgotten that Alduin wasn't the only boy left in the circle..."

Huh? My jaw dropped and I instantly realized what she meant. Just before I could make my escape, Gospel warned out to me all-knowingly. "Don't even think about it." The tone of cunning threat within her voice made my body freeze instantly in fear and I was forced to join in the game. Beads of perspiration dribbled down my forehead as the fateful moment came. I was trapped. With uncaring indifference, Alduin slowly stretched out to clasp the second wine bottle firmly in his hand.

He gave out a heavy resigned sigh. "Here goes..."

Please don't let the tip point at me...

I frantically prayed as the bottle was now sent spinning, much faster than Kid's 8-round-and-a-thousandth spin. His job to spin the bottle done, Alduin laid back against the wall, the boy seeming to lack any care about who the bottle picks. "Why must I even be in a relationship...?" I could hear him muttering under his breath.

But I was more concerned with the bottle pointing at me. Hundreds of ideas of escape flashed through my mind but all of them melted away under the watchful stare of Gospel. As the bottle begun to slow before my shaking eyes, I shakily chewed at my fingernails, the chatter of my teeth against the smooth surface only serving to accelerate my paranoia.

The bottle was now really slowing down, now at a slow crawl, and I was beginning to freak out like crazy, with goosebumps even forming over my skin. Fear had utterly enveloped around me. Gospel didin't matter anywhere. I just want to get out of there. But before I decided to risk Gospel's wrath and make a break for it, the sound of gasps and aahs from the girls and a big groan from Alduin instantly stopped me in my tracks, prompting my widened eyes to take a fearful look at the bottle.

The bottle has clearly stopped. Its tip was pointing at one of us in the circle.

But who?

**I'm leaving this one in a cliffhanger and to a poll. I'm also taking a short break from writing for a while. I had been looking into too many political internet wars that my writing persona had to go on a vacation in disgust. Maybe 3 to 4 days. I've decided to be reading more stories and much less politics during that period. But don't worry! I will be back with more updates! Cheers! :D**


	77. Odahving Chapter 27

Like in the many days that have passed since he got here, the pale light of dawn filtered through the tiny windows of his lodging, casting their shadows throughout the entire room. Through the stained glass, the lone boy could see the snow continuing to fly away in a beautiful fashion, like little petals falling from a sakura tree.

As he took in the sight, a sudden drop in temperature reminded him to take his extra-thick parka, draping it over his partly shivering body. At the chilling surface of the fabric against his skin, goose bumps were swift to form and with an electric kettle, he hurriedly filled a vacuum flask with hot water, some of which he downed immediately after.

As the comforting relief of hot water washed over his cold numb body, the 12-year old boy pushed himself off the bed, its sheet surprisingly free of any bugs (Thank the gods for that) but the mattress hard and frosty. The blonde-haired Californian could only sigh in exhaustion, remembering the shivering nap he had throughout the insanely cold night.

In the despairing darkness of the dim room, he could see the 2.23 metre _chokuto_ sitting across the room, its length clearly exceeding his own 1.5 metre stature. A gift from Japan when he climbed Mount Fuji. It was a beautiful sword, intricate pattern running across the green straight blade, along with a golden square guard and a large pommel.

But it was also a very heavy load for his trek and the boy shook off returning memories of the many times he had wanted to throw away that ancient blade. But he couldn't. If he did, the Japan government would come after him for throwing away one of their National Treasures.

"Futsu-no Mitama no Tsurugi..."

He resignedly repeated the name of the sword once again. It was long, confusing and his accent didn't mix well with the Japanese pronunciation. Even worse, in exchange for money and funding, he had to bring the darn sword up to the top of his next mountain and stab it at the summit to let it be a boasting sign of Japanese national pride.

As if anyone is going to be able to see it in the first place. The boy groaned at the task while he dared to go near the window, the outside cold reaching out to him like wispy hands. His small green eyes looked beyond the glass, beyond the snow, beyond the houses, beyond the mountainous slopes and finally narrowed at the barely visible jutted peak of the Roof of the World, its rocky surface blanketed in white.

Mount Everest.

"Felix White: The Youngest Boy to reach the summit of Mount Everest." The boy could feel his chest swell in pride at the potential healines, a toothysmile stretching across his face.

"And to climb the Seven Summits."

It had been his dream to climb the Seven Summits ever since he was a little boy. People would laugh at him, tease him, tell him that it was impossible to climb the summits and be so young at the same time. They would tell him that such a feat would need skill, muscles, brains, courage and even raw talent that he _clearly_ did not have.

But he showed them again and again. Puncak Jaya, Eltrus, Kilimanjaro, McKinley. All five of them fell to him within years. And then Aconcagua. A whopping 6,962 metres tall and, like the others before it, he conquered that mountain too.

Now, Everest was next. 8,848 metres tall, that snow-covered peak in the far-off distance could easily tower over the other six.

And that height would be a challenge.

Felix could feel his spine shivering at the mention of height. Just a month ago, he had gone on to try out the second tallest mountain K2. The experience of that particular climb will never leave his mind. Instead, it had left a hot trembling scar on it, reminding him what was so important about that climb.

It was the first time he had been truly scared when climbing up a mountain. It wasn't because the hike was difficult; the mountain didn't really pose that much of a challenge for him. It was because of its sheer height of 8,070 metres.

In the middle of one of his vertical ascents, he had somehow looked down. When he had given a nervous glance down towards the sharp drop below, he had felt inextinguishable fear rise up within him, like an army of tiny overwhelming ants crawling through his body. Blood rushed to his head like a tidal wave, messing with his already panicking mind. Even now, a near-suffocating lump formed in his throat as he relived those terrifying moments. It was only thanks to his climbing experience that he did not faint.

Obviously, he never told anyone this before. That he was acrophobic.

Scared of heights.

Pretty ironic for a high-mountain climber, isn't it? It was only at the most extreme of heights; anything below 7000 metres was a simple pushover. But the much taller K2 had left its mark. Mount Everest was even taller. meaning that it was worse. The blonde boy sadly smiled, silent at the revelation of a contradiction within.

A Six-Summit climber, scared of heights? What a joke.

Felix's ears perked up at the sound of opening doors and the soft, respectful footsteps behind it. "Are you okay, Master White?" came a whisper in Nepalese from the other side of the half-opened room door.

Felix's eyes immediately recognized the dim outline of his Nepalese guide Santosh, an experienced kind man who had been guiding the way for Everest for at least 20 years. 20 years of climbing up the Everest and back. At such an achievement,k Felix could not help but feel a sense of awe and wondert.

"Yes." Felix replied in Nepalese. It was a tradition for him to learn the language of his guides. They deserved that much respect and more. "We can leave now."

**10 minutes...**

As Felix, dressed in his parka, took his first steps out of the lodge that had been their place to stay, a blast of cold wind swarmed over him, making him grit his cool teeth. Such blasts were frequent in the high-altitudes of Namche Bazaar, the last village before the final push to the Everest Base Camp and then, Everest itself.

Namche Bazaar was a rather rural town, composing of several brick houses, some run-down, situated on the face of a semi-circular slope, over the beautiful view of the plateau of snow-filled forest below. The trees below, with the winter wind dancing lithely through their snow-covered branches, created a rather calming rustling sound. Above and beyond, Felix could see the Everest peak behind some of the smaller mountains, an estimated 20 kilometres away.

As Felix took in the grandeur of the far-away summit one more time, Santosh came out of the lodge from behind. Catching Felix's entranced expression, the older adult smiled at the sight of youth. Whenever the eyes of new climbers stared upon the Everest Mountain, it reminded him of the same feeling he had when he was guided up the majestic beast by his own father.

A feeling which had been lost after so many years of taming it.

Rubbing his hand through his swept-back chestnut brown hair, the man asked the still staring green-eyed child. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Hearing his question, the boy turned and gave him a curt acknowledging nod. Then, Felix rubbed his back as if in discomfort, an action that worried the watching Santosh. His eyes, chocolate brown, focused accusingly at the giant 2-metre ancient sword the boy had been carrying around on top of his climbing pack ever since they met.

Santosh knew that the blade's weight was clearly bothering his client. No matter how experienced a climber was, if he wanted to climb Everest fast, he would need to go light. And no way was that blade 'light'. Especially for such a young child.

"Let me help you with that." Santosh offered, extending his arms out for the blade. He never knew why that child had been carrying the sword around. But it might have something to do with the insane amount of money the boy had.

The boy flashed him a grateful smile, his hand shaking to reject. "Thanks but I can handle it." To reassure his guide, the 12-year old pulled up his pack, trying to show that he can manage the weight.

But a moment of imbalance resulted in the precariously giant blade tilting to one side, forcing the gasping boy to follow its fall backwards uncontrollably. Stretching out his arm, Santosh removed the blade from the top of Felix's backpack, ignoring the shouts of "I'm okay!" from the kid.

"You need to accept help sometimes, child..." The man shook his head with a smile as he pulled out a long length of string from his pack, pulling it to ensure its strength. After a few moments of tying, the Nepalese created a string belt that was tied around in three rings around the blade's sheath. Felix watched the entire process, his mouth dropping at his guide's obvious solution.

When he was done, the satisfied Santosh passed the tied up sword back to the watching Felix, who gratefully strapped around his waist, allowing Futsu-no Mitama no Tsurugi to rest just below his backpack, its length balanced by the three spread-out securing rings of rope. No longer free-hanging precariously, the blade felt much closer to his body, allowing familiarity, and its lower position below the backpack lowered his center of gravity as well, allowing stability.

"When you can't beat the weight, use it." Santosh chuckled at the child's happiness with the adjustment. The youths never failed to make him laugh, with their inexperience and yet optimism.

Within their somewhat short acquaintance of 15 days, the olive-skinned guide had found the boy, his green eyes brimming with so much free wind-like energy, to not only to be very adept at climbing, but also possess some sort of aura, like that of the air, uncatchable, unstoppable, as if all the traps, obstacles in the wind wouldn't get him falling. Except for one.

Heights.

Yes. The man had noticed that all-too-familiar glint of fear inside the boy's eyes, the betraying minute shakiness in his body movements, all evident whenever they were on an especially high vertical drop. He never really understood why a boy with such an air of freedom and ambition would be scared of something as mere as height. Truthfully, he never really tried to understand anyway. He always maintained a strict guide-climber relationship whenever he was hired. It provided personal effectiveness and allowed ease of communication.

Somehow, the child couldn't seem to get that, always trying to strike up a conversation whenever they were in the middle of climbing and never forgetting to equal the weight they carried, despite the fact that that one of the guide's jobs was to carry the heavier loads. And after 15 days with this boy, Santosh could feel himself being affected by the child's behaviour.

Though he sometimes would try to get the kid to concentrate more on climbing rather than on talking, on the ground he would listen on as the boy talked, even talking back when the topic was something that he could particularly connect to. Such as the outside world beyond the Himalayas and climbing. To talk with his client about things beyond his job. A first in twenty years.

Santosh looked at the back-turned Felix from head to toe. To be able to have such a free out-going spirit. Especially as a climber.

Most climbers, including Santosh himself, have a more refined and quiet nature, simply silently desiring to reach the greatest heights and at the same time, never trying to create a height for all climbers to aim towards. No one would dare to claim to be the best, under the excuse that they must be humble in this most testing of sports. But this boy...this boy... He was special in his own special way. And this boy knew it. Whether he feared heights or not.

With a smile of admiration at the unaware child, Santosh decided to leave his own thoughts for now. Outstretching his brawny rough arm, the Nepalese wanted to tap Felix's shoulder to get his attention. But at the same time, the boy's green eyes seemed to squint towards something in the snowy distance and he spoke, much to Santosh's surprise.

"The birds...they seem restless..."

**And that's the new update, folks! After a few days of negotiation, I have finally managed to get my writer self to come back! Time to celebrate! Cheese for everybody! And thanks to Noroit for his review and reading. I look forward to more reviews in the future! **

**See ya!**


	78. Odahving Chapter 28

"The birds...They seem restless..."

Gawking at Felix's unusual words, the older Santosh wondered whether the high-altitude air had gotten to him. Following the boy's gaze, Santosh's eyes looked beyond the terraced **(carved such that it looks like a giant staircase)** slope, down towards the forest of snow-filled trees below. Comprising mostly of pine trees, that forest has been there for as long as Santosh's father and his grandfather and great grandfather have all lived combined. And maybe even longer.

As he wondered what Felix had found to be so interesting inside the wildwood, Santosh then noticed little black dots flying up from the tree branches into the air. When he saw the tiny little wings of the dots beating away, he immediately knew that they were birds, hastening to escape whatever was hidden under the snow-piled branches of the trees.

At first, he thought it would be nothing more than a mere tiger or leopard on the prowl. They were not that common in the area but when they are present, birds would obviously make a break for it, lest the predators are hungry enough to target them.

But something else felt wrong. Either the birds were migrating(which they most certainly have never done before, let alone now) or that the tiger was as big as the forest itself. For it wasn't just a flock of birds flying away in panic; it was flocks. And it wasn't just flocks of birds screeching about in warning to each other; it was most possibly every single avian resident of the forest. Like ants scurrying about in a massive scene of pandemonium, the birds were leaving their homes, forming massive clouds of little black dots swarming out into the sky.

"What's...happening?" Santosh murmured under his breath as he stood beside the mouth-agape Felix. Both of them were now standing at the edge of the ledge that was about two more levels from where the terracing had stopped and the slope continued down steep and unchanged.

Above the accumulated cacophony of the birds' screaming, Santosh's ears picked out murmurs of worry and confusion and he took away his eyes from the masses of avians to see what was happening. All around them, his fellow villagers and guides, along with their clients, have all stopped from their daily activities typical of a rural town such as Namche and now like the two, were dumbstruck by the sight unfolding far out below them.

Stunned silence followed as the birds finally escaped into the falling snow and the village waited in fear and awe for what was about to happening next.

It came in a flash.

!

A thunderous and brain-popping roar shook through the very air and a massive wave of air pressure was ensuing.

Within what one could call a nanosecond, the center of the forest was stripped bare. Every tree, plant, grass and mushroom within a 3 kilometre radius had disappeared. Even the snow failed to survive, as a bare 6 kilometre wide circular area of dark Himalayan soil had been revealed, smack dab center in the forest.

Santosh and Felix had barely enough time to drop their jaws when something else happens. In the very center of that area, just about a few metres into the air, levitated a small dense-looking sphere of a myriad of bright colours, with even light peering out every once in a while. Then immediately after its presence was secured, a much bigger sphere, with the exact same radius as the cleared area, formed around its smaller colleague, taking a transparent look, with swirling patterns, very similar to how oil looks on top of water.

While everyone else looked upon the perfectly symmetrical geometry, Felix was the first to start moving. Santosh came a close second, when he gawked even more at the boy suddenly sliding down the slope, clearly intending to get nearer to the event happening before their very eyes. "Young man!" Santosh gritted his teeth in distress as he hurriedly followed the boy, intent on stopping the youthful soul from his suicidal tendencies.

By the time he managed to catch up with the green-eyed youth at the last level of the terraced area, a new development stopped his client from going down even further. It was small but prominent, a tiny shape appearing in the center of the smaller sphere. As the shape seemed to get bigger and bigger, Santosh was now getting the feeling that it wasn't getting bigger, it was just getting closer. What unnatural power is at hand?

And Santosh got his answer. When the shape got near enough to be clearly identified, Santosh could see that it wasn't just a building.

It was an entire city.

BOOOOOMMMMMM!

As if it wanted to vomit and eat at the same time, the small sphere collapsed on and consumed itself and simultaneously puked out the giant 6-kilometre-diameter city into existence. As the massive payload landed into its prepared landing spot, the smaller colorful sphere had disappeared as fast as it had made its entrance. Its gargantuan compatriot was instantly blown away by a massive shockwave when the city touched ground, its murderor proceeding to rush through the air and the earth, generating massive gales and quakes all around.

A fountain of upturned soil shot up into the air around the grounded city, the shock-inducing sight reminiscent to that of a rock being dropped into a calm lake. While the ground trembled beneath them, Felix and Santosh stumbled about, their sense of balance thrown off. Screams of fright, confusion and chaos went up from all around as everyone tried to maintain their balance in the roaring wake of the quake.

His instincts kicking in, the older, more experienced man instantly scanned the mountains above for avalanches. Thankfully, the winter had just begun and not enough snow was present to warrant such a catastrophe. However, he still decided to be careful and pulled Felix down towards the ground, the two of them lying prone on the trembling soil.

As the turbulent surge of force finally ended, Santosh and Felix could still feel every inch of their body trembling in muscle memory and in heart-stopping fear. As they shakily got up, they suddenly hear a loud cracking sound behind them. Around them. And below them.

"Shit!" Santosh cursed as he grabbed Felix and sat with him on top of the cracking piece of ledge.

CRACK!

Like characters in an action movie, Felix and Santosh were about to experience one of the classic acts: surfboarding down a mountain.

That is, if you consider clinging for dear life on a rock diving down at frightful speeds,

having snowflakes smack painfully into your face like hateful hail,

getting your skin cold in aforementioned face-smacking snow,

crashing through weakened trees,

ricocheting off the stronger ones,

skipping over rocks, somersaulting over logs,

having pain strike through your fingers as they held against the constant trembling of your earthly vehicle,

having your already freaked-out mind blown by the giant city towering over you as you get closer,

plunging into the shadow of said city, finding out to your alarm that your vehicle was being degraded away by friction,

having a certain giant 2-meter blade spare you a lethal crash into the city walls by being shaken off the belt and plunging itself into the ground with one of the rings still attached to it

and finally having your back hurt from the massive whip-back force when you were stopped by said blade,

all the while screaming at the top of one's lungs to the point that your voice box manager wants to retire

"surfboarding".

"AAHHHHHHH!" As their trembling butts, smarting from the rocky ride, smacked against the ground, the two climbers continued screaming away. First they screamed at their now abandoned earthly vehicle obliterating itself into pieces against the concrete city walls.

Then they screamed at each other's faces.

Then they screamed at the sword that just saved them.

Then they screamed at the sky.

And then they screamed at the giant city, its shadow blanketing over them like a giant black cloak.

Finally they were screaming at a certain omnipotent elderly man called Time sitting at one side, sipping tea away cheerfully on his usual beard-covered tea table as he watched them scream as if he was watching a play.

"You two...will make terrific alarm clocks. YAWWWNNN!"

**Two minutes later,**

Things just got ridiculous.

Time could not help but sweatdrop.

The two were still screaming.

Their mouths opened ajar as their seemingly immortal voices went on at full gear, the two climbers who had made their dynamic entrance in the middle of his tea session had proven themselves worthy of Guiness Book of Universe Records of Earth's Longest Screamers. But this has to stop.

"ENOUGH!" In a rare moment of wrath, Time exerted his pressure and in an instant the two were stunned to silence. The chain of tombstones, which marked the birth and death of everything in the universe, flying in and out of the holes on his back arms sped up ever so slightly. But he soon calmed down and the system returned back to normal.

As the two strangers continued to stare involuntarily at him, Time could not help but giggle at the sight of their time being frozen, their bodies unmoving, their minds unaware and their voices SILENT. A perfect Time to work his magic.

Struggling up, Time cringed at his lower body, still encased in the tens of thousands of chains that govern him. When he finally managed to stand, he walked towards the two unmoving boy and man, his dull eyes scanning them from head to toe in wonder. Then he gazed up towards the city and his Concept eyes narrowed on something neither mortals nor gods could see. Around the entirety of Death City, bright coloured rings made up of runes and symbols spiraled about, shining mystical illumination into the city. Time took in a brief whiff of the air and in an instant he knew that the collection of rings was the collective spell that had made everyone in the city take an early nap.

Time could not help but smile to himself. The two frozen dudes in front of him did indeed make terrific alarm clocks.

Already, the spell was being broken away, its synergy having been disturbed by their cacophonous screams. As a sign of that breakdown, one of the golden rings splintered into pieces that proceeded to dematerialize before Time's tired eyes.

"Soon they will wake up..." He softly cheered as he refocused his attention back on his two stagnant assistants. He also acknowledged the long _chokuto _that had saved their lives. Futsu-no Mitama no Tsurugi. A Japanese National Treasure. Time felt pleasantly surprised at being able to reunite with the familiar blade.

That _chokuto_ used to be in the hands of one of his many friends. Who, like everyone else, had met an unfortunate end. But that was for another story.

However... For that duo to possess it, they are bound to serve a much greater purpose in the upcoming turn of events. One of them will die first. The other will soon follow. But until then, they present a golden opportunity for the ancient Concept to help his grandson.

TIME to get to work.

**0.000000000000 seconds later...**

"Hu...Huh?" Felix gasped when a sense of lethargy came over him, as if he had just came back to life after a long time. 'What was I looking at just now?' The Canadian child wondered aloud as he searched left and right. No sign of whatever he had been screaming at two minutes ago appeared. He remembered the utterly frightening slide down the hill, the giant spheres, the clearing of the forest, the birds flocking upwards. But as for anything just two minutes ago, he seemed to have forgotten. Beside him, his guide Santosh was shaking his head, moaning with a pained voice.

"Santosh! Are you okay?" Felix asked in Nepalese and he sighed in relied when the older man slowly and unsteadily got up beside him, weakly nodding his head in acknowledgement. He too seemed to have been affected in the same way. They couldn't seem to remember what they had been screaming at for the past two minutes.

Or maybe they had been screaming at nothing at all.

That was what their minds were starting to tell them, tiny little voices assuring them to believe that, singing them a lulling lullaby at the same time.

Slowly but surely, Felix felt the importance of those two minutes fading away, as if he was being compelled to forget them. At the same time, the dark and gloomy city that dwarfed them seemed to be watching them with those two black eyes of its skull-faced building located at the very top of the cone-shaped body. Around that body, each and every building was had ghostly white walls and blood-red tiled roofs. Some of them even had hideous skulls around them, not unlike that of the three skulls covering the topmost castle. The sight of the construct sent shivers down Felix's marrow but at the same time, the eyes of these watching skulls were beckoning to him. To enter this strangest of cities.

"I'm...I'm...going in..." Felix whispered to Santosh. Before his guide could even whisper a protest, Felix's eagle eyes noticed the giant entrance of the city walls closeby. As the entrance was elevated off the ground, it seemed like a highway was supposed to be present, but had been somehow cut away from the city. Despite the fact that his entire exhausted body was screaming at him shakily to rest, Felix knew that he wouldn't have much trouble climbing up the rocky city wall and into the elevated entrance. As the tired Santosh followed his determined client, the two of them scaled up the rough wall as if it was like a simple rock-climbing course.

And when they managed to reach the entrance, they were shocked when they heard the sound of booming behind them and the smell of asphalt wafted up their noses. The two turned to find a simple long highway forming out of the entrance they were in and reaching towards the ground, banging against the snow-covered earth as it landed perfectly within an additional clearing of forest. To be able to bring the entire city and the highway, it had to be a work of something very powerful. With this in mind, Felix couldn't help but look deep into the dark main entrance road. Already, snow was beginning to cover the brick-layered street, and the shadows cast by them danced like little fingers, gesturing to the boy to delve even deeper.

His sharp mountaineering eyes noticed the main road branching off into what Felix guessed to be a labyrinth of smaller cobbled streets, but its main portion led straight up towards a long road-wide flight of steps, which scaled up towards the eccentric castle-like building on the top. As four giant candles protruded out of the infrastructure in four differing directions, their flames continued to burn amidst the falling snow and the winter wind. As its three skulls all faced towards the cloud-covered sky, three blood red spikes were jutting out of the middle skull's eyes and nose. Its teeth were slanted and separated into three pillars, forming a sort-of gateway into the building. All the while, Felix could feel a shiver, both by cold and nerve, reaching into his bones, the activity, or lack of it, severely unnerving him.

At first, Felix instinctively wanted to head straight for that clearly important building. It was natural to do that, for one always gets a better view from the top of a mountain. But then the clouds of smoke to his right billowing out into the white sky caught his attention. A second instinct triggered in him. Where there was smoke, there was fire. Where there was fire, there was probably someone there. Where there was someone, there was information. At first, fear, worry, anxiety about the dancing shadows reaching out to grab him finally caught up with his curiosity and for a second he hesitated. But then something in his mind seemed to click and in an instant that fear was subconsciously driven into the back of his mind. He just SO needed to go and find out what this city...this city of Death was all about. How it got here. Who lived in it. What happened here. Why is there fire in such a city in the first place.

With these questions filling up his head like flies on a cadaver, Felix was forced to run towards the smoke, a shocked Santosh calling after him and then following him out of exasperation.

And high above, standing on the red plated roof of one of the many houses, watching the two make their way towards the smoldering site ravaged by battle, was a man cloaked in midnight black, a heavy black coffin tied to his caped back.

"_Ikuzo...Izanami..."_


	79. Odahving Chapter 29

What a headache...

It was like someone playing a drum in his head at an increasing tempo, beating the sound into his mind. Alduin's eyelids, heavy and lethargic from what had felt like an endless sleep, refused to open, while his body also seem to be rebelling against him, its muscles stiff from exhaustion, forcing the black-haired boy to lie against the ground, the soil warming under his body heat. As his mind begun to wake up, he could feel a cold breeze brush against his neck and face, making the boy clench his hard jaw in resistance. At the same time, something icy and wet was descending gently onto his body. Snow? Alduin's mind went back to the times he had flown about in Skyrim, the blizzards smacking him in his face. It had to be snow. Then, Alduin felt something else, one that made him sigh in comfort.

Its warmth in stark contrast with the frosty wind, someone's sleepy breath was slowly washing over his face. Judging from his memories, it was most probably Cyril's. Though he couldn't see her, Alduin was sure that the DJ should be alright. Her breath was proof of that.

For a while, nothing else happened. Cyril's comforting breath against his skin, the chilly snow blanketing his back and the occasional blast of wind making him cringe. The lack of change was making Alduin panic. His eyes were reluctant to even let in a sliver of light, while his body remained rebellious towards any attempts to move. How are they going to fully wake up?

An eternity of a minute or two passed by and Alduin feared that the whole of Death City might be stuck like that, while a blanket of snow would cover its entirety and close off any chances of rescue from outside. He tried to mentally call out to Gospel inside his arm bracelet but the white-haired girl failed to answer. He attempted giving out a shout but his jaw, like the rest of his body, remained locked tight. Even an utter was impossible. He intended to think about as many things as he can, hoping that the enormous mental activity would force his body awake. But still no progress.

His mind panting from the attempt, Alduin could feel the chilly cold reaching his brain like an icy dagger, aggravating whatever headache remained and making him uncontrollably shiver. Wait a minute, shiver? Alduin immediately noticed the fact that his body is shivering. His eyes remained shut but his arms were shaking. And when they shook, he could sense them knocking against something, like as if someone had coated around his entire body a body-shaped brick wall. A paralyzing spell.

Alduin's mind clicked when he caught onto the problem. A spell of paralysis was preventing him from moving. To forcibly move his body against this spell is like pushing against a mountain, impossible to move at one go. To get out, one will have to chip away that mountain bit by bit with tiny regular movement. Such as shivering. As he begun to focus on increasing his shivering, his initially barely noticeable movement begun to intensify, his goose bumped skin now fighting against the spell cast on him. The blasts of freezing wind assisted as well, its icy penetrating daggers spurring his body to shiver even more. Brick by magical brick, the spell begun to break down at the determined rebellion of its ex-god prisoner. At the sound of soft but noticeable cracking, Alduin redoubled his efforts.

His arms were first to break free, rupturing the sleeves of this mystical straitjacket and forcibly removing themselves from their initial position against his chest. With one of its sections in itty bitty enchanted pieces, the spell couldn't last much long and like fragmenting glass, it gave out shrill shirks as it broke apart under its prisoner's determination. Soon enough, Alduin was able to move the entire of his body.

Except for his head.

Unfortunately, when one shivers, one does not really shiver his head. And so the poor Alduin was left with his head planted on the ground, while the rest of his body flailed about trying to lift his trapped head up from the ground. As he allowed his tiring body to lie prone on the floor, Alduin wondered what to do next. He couldn't move his eyes; his lids are simply too thin and weak to break the spell around his eyes. He could try to smile repeatedly but that would just release his cheeks. Nope, not the eyebrows. His jaw was still too stiff for any small movement. Great! So he would just stand here like a freaking ostrich with its head planted into the ground!

The simple thought of such a sorry sight made Alduin growl, his voice box vibrating menacingly. After playing a game of tango with his best-partner-turned-enemy, getting killed, meeting his own bloody grandfather, signing a contract and transporting all of Death City to Time knows where, he now has to stand here for the rest of his life with his pathetic head stuck to the ground. Not to mention the massive back pain he was going to get. Alduin mentally gritted his teeth as his growling voice slowly grew in strength, spurred on by his anger.

Just how is he gonna get his head out of here?

SHIRK!

All of a sudden, the breaking of glass could be heard and they were especially close. As if they were right behind his ears. Inside his throat. "Hu...huh?" He confusedly hummed. His mouth was still unable to open but his voice was now free. The growling must have resulted in his voice box vibrating fast enough to break the section of the paralysis spell surrounding it. With this revelation, Alduin knew what to do next.

He needed to be careful when doing this. If it was too soft, it would bounce off the inner side of his paralysis helmet and then proceed to cause his vulnerable head to explode. If it was too loud, he would break the spell around his miserable face but give the DJ girl sleeping right in front of him a fatal shock. He'll need more than an average Force. He needed Balance to pull this off. And maybe Push this annoyance of a spell off him.

Closing his eyes to focus (actually he really had no choice but to leave his paralyzed lids closed), Alduin tried to recall this most basic of shouts. He had called upon the first word of this shout without even needing to find its Word of Power first. How tough can it be to find the other two?

Alduin dug deep into his mind, recalling all the lessons about shouts from his father. If there was one thing he would pay attention to during his old man's class, it was how to fight. And shouts were the most interesting. The thing about shouts is that they work differently for gods and humans. And for those who called these shouts Dragon Shouts, they were fools. These 'Dragon Shouts' weren't really shouts created by dragons. The only reason the Dragon Language was used was because the massive history of its language provided a perfect medium for these shouts. In truth, the shout was just sheer power manifested by a person's force of will and his masterful understanding of the certain knowledge behind the word.

In fact, the words can work individually. They were simply grouped together for lazy people to learn. If Alduin was to shout "Fus Ro Had", which means "Force Balance Pull", he would have the opposite effect of Unrelenting Force. Anyone can use them, but there was a catch. For one to effectively use them, one will have to be spending decades understanding the concept behind the shout.

Or one will have to cheat his way into understanding. Aka Dragon-Born style. Taking the accumulated knowledge of slain dragons, the Dovahkiin simply reapplied that knowledge when he shouted, hence skipping those decades and centuries of training and researching Paarthurnax's Greybeards had to undergo. The gods had it even easier. They were simply endless vessels of knowledge. Once they have a certain word in mind, they can simply pull out their vast mental textbooks and then comprehend the word's entirety in seconds. As for the Concepts...

Alduin shuddered.

Anyway, he just needs to do just that. Pull out his textbook and comprehend the two words all over again. He knows the words, Ro and Dah, so one part of the process was done. Now he must think. Within seconds, Alduin's consciousness sank into his mind. Like the librarian in his own personal library, Alduin's wispy consciousness scurried about, searching through billions' of years of knowledge, examining one book before throwing it aside to receive the next. Indeed, it was a rather messy method and Alduin found out that his human brain couldn't process at the same speed as his previously immortal 'brain' of divinity. But that wasn't that much of a hindrance. Alduin had learned these two words before, so he knows exactly which books of memory to look into.

This process continued on for what had felt like an eternity, though it was really only three minutes. Soon enough, Ro and Dah felt as familiar as his own two hands to him once again and he hoped that he had re-learned once again. His locked jaw still refusing to move, Alduin knew that he had to hum the words without opening his mouth.

At first, he was hesitant. He knew the risks. Either suicide by spontaneous head-explosion or murder by shockwave.. Or if he didn't really learn those words, eternal imprisonment to a helmet. He didn't really like his choices. Swallowing the gulp in his throat, Alduin tried to ignore the piercing iciness from the layers of snow on him. He gave a cough to clear his throat, remaining unsure whether to proceed. "What if I mess up? Like with Odahving, Paarthurnax and all of Nirn?"

At that moment of doubt, a memory of Lucifer came to his mind. It was from the very first dream he had shared with the dog, on top of a fiery volcanic platform.

"_Hopelessness equals fear. Fear equals lack of power. And lack of power equals hopelessness."_

"_Come let us climb the ladder of Hope..."_

_Hope..._

Hope. He needs to hope. To hope that he will get it right. To hope that he will be able to survive the harsh times that will come. To hope that he can beat Odahving and Paarthurnax. To hope that he can kick Order's and Chaos' asses to kingdom come. And keep on hoping till this entire mess is done.

Yes, he will start with his head first.

And thus that restraining coat of doubt was now washed away by a newfound confidence. Alduin could feel the lumps in his throat fall away, the chattering of his teeth halt and the bone-chilling cold fading away. With steel-like resolve, Alduin clenched his fists, stilled his entire body and allowed his mastery of the Voice flow through him like blood in his vessels. He ignored the restrictive feel of his locked jaw, his mind now entirely focused on what he was going to do next.

And so he hummed between his gnashed teeth.

"Fus Ro Dah."

BOOM!

Splintering rang through the air as Alduin shot straight up. For the first time in a long time, his eyes were free and he opened their lids only to shut them back, unused to the glare of the brilliant white snow falling down from the equally white sky. As his eyes adjusted themselves to the brilliance, Alduin picked himself back to his feet. Beside him, he could see the translucent pieces of the destroyed spell evaporating into the air, its vapour swimming away in the wind current. And lying at his feet was a yellow-haired girl, her hair parted at the center by her signature green-coloured headphones, which clung tightly to her ears. Cyril Yiuta.

At the sight of her sleeping in the snow, Alduin was immediately alarmed at her sleeveless turtleneck. How cold could she be? Removing his trench coat, Alduin draped it around the teenage girl like a blanket and even rubbed it against her to generate heat for her probably freezing body.

As he did all this, Alduin scanned his surroundings. He was still in Death City, in the flattened area that had been the battle scene between him and..."Chaos" Odahving. Alduin could feel himself shiver, this time not at the cold but at the memory of his near-death experience against his once loyal second-in-command. Just keep on hoping, he told himself.

Now looking beyond the area simply around him, Alduin noticed something has changed in the background. A change awe-inspiring enough for his jaw to drop and stay dumb-founded for at least a few seconds. The scenery was like that of the Throat of the World, the famous mountain containing Skyrim's Seven Thousand Steps. From left to right, Alduin could see that the Death City was encircled by towering mountains and their snowy-capped peaks indicated that they were indeed in a very high altitude. As the rain of snow continued to fall around him, Alduin could see the intricate, always unique pattern of snowflakes that floated extremely close to him. Held mesmerized by these icy flowers dancing in the wind, Alduin paused from his warming of Cyril for a while to admire upon their beauty. He even accidentally breathed in some of the feather-light petals, leading the poor boy to hurriedly cough them out at the hair-rising touch of their icy form.

Where are they?

This couldn't be Skyrim. Didn't that ancient man of Time say that Nirn had been destroyed by Order?

If so, then where on Earth is this mountainous place?

That question hang around in Alduin's head as he now tried to get Cyril out of her paralyzed state. But to his surprise, when he was about to shake her, the DJ gave out a snore. It wasn't exceptionally loud like a giant exhalation of air, but simply soft and normal. Even then, it showed Alduin that Cyril was still sound asleep. And he was awake.

Questions now flashing through his head like a bullet train, Alduin turned to look at Death and Spirit lying on the blackened ground some distance away. Though he couldn't hear their snores, Alduin could see their mouths breathing in and out as they slept on in peaceful slumber.

Then, how did he wake up in the first place?

"Anata wa kono sekai ni zokushite imasen."

Huh?

His ears picking up a monotonous male voice speaking to him, Alduin spun around left and right. But no one was there.

"Who-"

And that was when he heard the screaming.

**Sorry about the late update but school has been hampering the time I have to write. Please review though and I am still accepting OCs.**


	80. Odahving Chapter 30

These screams were screams so loud and piercing that Alduin could swear they could make anyone faint.

Because he nearly did.

As the ear-piercing pitch of the scream caused him to slump forward, Alduin forced his arms against the ground to keep his body up. It was clear from the sounds that there were actually two different voices screaming but as Alduin continued to endure, they seemed to meld into a garbled monstrous one, making the experience all the more unbearable. He was in too much agony to know how much time he had passes; each second was drawn out by the intense pain.

From the corner of his trembling eye, he could see Cyril, Death and Spirit still asleep. They didn't even seem to be affected by the shocking screams. Alduin probably knew why.

He wasn't supposed to be awake. This scream was to be their wake-up call.

A while past and Alduin, in the midst of his agony, asked himself. How long has it been since that scream commenced? A minute? Two?

Alduin couldn't possibly know. However, as the boy covered his ears in a vain attempt to block out the brain-wrecking noise, he thought ,for the most fleeting of moments, he saw someone staring at him some distance away. His vision blurred by the pain, he couldn't make out who that someone was, but for a moment he seemed to have spotted a black-robed figure standing atop one of the many red tiled roofs. But a scream-inducing spike of pain forced Alduin to blink. By the time his eyes opened again, the dark figure was gone.

Was that his imagination? Or was that figure the one behind the mysterious voice? These questions he asked over and over again over the noise pollution, but no answer came to him. And thus his ever increasing pile of unanswered questions had two new occupants once again. As his mind took a look at this mountain of these unsatisfied inquiries, it could not help but have its spirits drop.

How can one still continue to hope if one has so many questions that are left without an answer? Lucifer and that women, that book-holding boy, the reappearance of the void of time, that glowing figure in its foetal position. All those disturbing scenes without an explanation. Were they just by-products, side-effects, fabricated scenarios made by the teleportation or were they real?

No matter how many times he asked himself that, he couldn't come up with an answer.

And those screams. Where were they coming from? Why is he the only one feeling any pain from hearing them? Why is everyone still sleeping soundly through this noise?

Again, no answer.

Just as Alduin was about to shout out in utter frustration, the screams abruptly stopped, dropping off as fast as it had appeared. "Wha-What?" Alduin's eyebrows were raised in confusion as he carefully picked his tortured body back up, shaking away his incessant headaches. While his ears continued to ring from the experience, Alduin gritted his teeth before falling back to his knees, after-shocks of pain still shooting through his muscles. In his kneeling position, he found his face being right over the sleeping Cyril's and his eyes were forced to envy the peaceful slumber she seemed to be in._ Seemed to be in._ Right at that point, Alduin heard something he had not heard for a long time.

A person's waking groan.

Before Alduin's widened eyes, the DJ's pencil-thin brows furrowed, the kind of expression you would show when your precious afternoon nap is interrupted by a freak telephone call. Her lips opened ever so slightly to let out a wake-up groan. As she begun to stir, Alduin was dumbfounded by the sudden disappearance of whatever paralysis spell was on her. Right then, Alduin's ears now picked up other groans and sure enough, Death and Spirit seemed to be waking up, albeit at a much slower pace due to their previously unconscious states.

That was not all. Before, the air had sounded so silent compared to the intrusion by the screams, with only with the occasional whisper of the wind. Soon, this initially silent air begun to be filled up by a cacophony of waking groans and grumbles. Each single moan was soft on its own, but the collective amount resulted in an accumulated wave, as if Death City itself was now giving out a thunderous yawn.

Alduin, caught up by the happenings around him, was not able to notice the sleepy eyes of the waking Cyril opening up slowly. At first, her half-opened eyes regarded the boy kneeling over her blankly. A second later, when she realized how close he really was, her eyes jutted open in shock and a red blush swiftly washed over her cheeks. "Eh!" BANG! There was not even a second to react. The unfortunate Alduin found the bottom of his jaw being punched by a certain red-faced DJ.

As he fell back from the brute force, Alduin looked up in shock at the DJ up on her feet, unsure what he had done to deserve such a welcome. "What was that for?" he rubbed his sore jaw, cringing at the pain.

"Why were you...were you...were you...?" Cyril, her face tomato-red, stammered as she pointed her finger accusingly at Alduin.

Alduin, instantly tired of her stammering and also annoyed, snapped back. "Were I what? Helping you to brave the cold? Waiting for you to wake up from whatever slumber you were in? Passing you my trenchcoat to keep you warm? That is some way to say thank you."

"Trenchcoat?" Cyril gasped as she finally noticed the black knee-length coat draped over her sleeveless turtleneck. Her face turning redder than ever, the short-haired girl threw the coat back to the surprised Alduin, stammering out a question at the same time. "Did you...did you...?"

"Did what? Molest you?" And Alduin got a shy nod back.

That made him snap. "What the HELLL!" An exaggerated anger mark formed on his forehead as the wrathful teenager ranted on. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT I WAS HELPING YOU TO ENDURE THE COLD! THE TRENCHCOAT WAS TO HELP YOU WITH THAT! I EVEN RUBBED YOUR BODY TO HELP YOU HEAT UP!" Those were the wrong words to say. Alduin instantly snapped his mouth closed, knowing he had said a bit too much. And too late. Right in front of him, Cyril's face held an expression of total shock and disbelief.

"So...so...so...so you did molest me!"

"I did not!" Alduin, realizing the tables have turned on him, raised his hands in peace, just in time to catch the ferocious kick of a yelling girl. "Hey! Don't do anything reckless..." His voice now lowered and 'peace-loving', Alduin tried to calm the roaring lioness down. Rather unsuccessfully.

"Reckless? A per...per...pervert telling me not to be reckless?" Cyril's teeth were now gritted, clenching tight enough to probably destroy anything between them. Alduin hoped it didn't have to be him.

And then, with an obvious motive, Cyril's trembling hand went straight for her headphones, a motion that filled the watching ex-god with great alarm. "Don't even think about it!" Alduin yelled as he pounced on her, his hand grabbing hers to prevent them from removing those emerald headphones. All it would take is one slip and he would be getting his ass whooped around by a sound-wave. He can't let something that insulting happen to him. Not on his watch!

"Hey!" Cyril gasped at the seemingly perverted young man trying to 'rape' her and hence fought back with even more vigour. "Let go!" She warned as the two of them fell onto the ground, ignoring the pain the hard gravel inflicted on their bodies.

"Not unless you calm down first!"

The two fought on for quite a while, rolling about on the ground, with dominance switching sides over and over again. Alduin was physically stronger than Cyril but the girl was also more agile than him. Soon, it was no longer a fight over the headphones, switching to one where Cyril kept on slapping Alduin for being a "pervert" and Alduin refraining himself from grabbing Day Star and slamming its butt into her head. If you are a spectator, you might compare it to two bear cubs having a playful bout.

It wasn't long before this petty fight finally ended in a stalemate, with Alduin and Cyril breathing heavily from exhaustion, fatigue from their fight with Odahving catching up to them. Alduin was left kneeling over the panting Cyril below him, his hands managing to pin hers against the ground. Surprised at the position that they were in, Cyril tried to push Alduin off her, simultaneously screaming at him. "Get off of me! I'm just...just...!"

As Alduin's tired eyes, two black onyxes, watched the girl's hands fight back, his numb face felt her warm spittle pelt against his chilly skin. During their fight, he had some time to regather his thoughts. He wasn't angry at the girl. He shouldn't be. Not anymore. Too much has happened and too much has been drained from him. For now, anger was the last thing on his mind. Before the girl's mouth could shout out another "Pervert!" at him, Alduin cut her off with a single word of finality.

"Fine."

"Eh?" Taken completely off guard by his answer, the girl's mouth totally stopped short of her insult, uttering that much instead. Seeing her emerald eyes regard him with shock and surprise, Alduin gave a heavy sigh as he removed himself off her, even backing away to give the watching girl some space. Catching his breath, the raven-haired boy sat back onto the ground in front of her and the two proceeded to exchange stares for what felt like a long time. The atmosphere felt tense and awkward, the fluttering snow and the accompanying wind ignored in the back of their minds. And for a long while, Cyril thought she could see something of great age within Alduin's eyes, as if he was more than a mere boy. Like the eyes of a god. A very tired-looking god.

But her thoughts were dispelled by Alduin's words finally breaking the perpetual silence. "I just wanted to help."

At this simple statement, Cyril was at a loss of words. "H-help?"

Alduin smiled, albeit hesitantly, but saw hope of this conversation getting somewhere. "In where we are right now, you need it. Can't you see that we are now at somewhere else? Look at the snow, the wind, the clouds, even the sky itself!"

Cyril, her attention now diverted to her surroundings, only needed to give a brief glance around before fully realizing the situation. "Are you saying that Death City was teleported? What happened? How is this even possible?"

Silently giggling at the cluelessness of mortals, Alduin explained everything that had happened since Cyril fainted. Of course, he left out certain bits, such as the existence of his grandfather Time and his World Eater powers, just to make sure his identity was safe. How safe exactly, he did not know.

The listening Cyril was silent for a while, letting the dumbfounding information to sink in. Alduin waited for her with the patience of a_ teenager_, which is actually very little. Though he was ALMOST sure of the security of his explanation, as he watched the girl try to comprehend it all, he definitely felt his heart skipping beats in terrible fear of any gaps he could have left out. And so Alduin hurriedly interjected. "So...do you where we are?"

"Sorry, Alduin, I can't say I do. I guess you should be the one to tell me. Don't you have those 'Sins and Virtues' right now? Can't they give you some kind og message or anything of that sort?" At the sudden mention of his having the crests, Alduin jumped before driving his hands into his jean pockets. For a moment, he feared that the Sins and virtues might have committed a Great Escape and gone off on a vacation. However, his fears were allayed as he pulled out the crystal box, opening it to reveal the Humanitas, Ira and Avarice crest within, their corresponding colored glow dimmer than usual. Probably as a result of their usage. Remembering Cyril's question, Alduin's pupils narrowed at the intricate shaped rocks, searching for any indication or hint of where they are.

Meanwhile, an urge of curiosity scratching at her, Cyril crawled up to look over Alduin's shoulder. At first sight, her eyes widened in awe at the Humanitas' dragon, Ira's phoenix and...uuh...whatever worm Avarice was represented by. "Whoa..." Cyril muttered, enraptured by the glorious presence of the three crests. The light-reflecting snow made them even more beautiful, little white balls dancing about in their crystalline surface.

Like little eyes watching her, begging her to touch could probably outshine all the diamonds in the world put-together! Her breath held, the yellow-haired girl turned to the analyzing Alduin, expecting him to be too captivated by their beauty. Instead, the boy gave a sigh and shook his head.

"Not even a clue..."

He didn't even care! Cyril, stunned by Alduin's blatant ignorance to such physical sublimity, whispered to him, "Don't you think they are beautiful?" Something within her seemed to be pushing to her the idea of touching one of the crests.

Alduin stared on blankly, "What? The snow? Yeah, it's pretty and all..."

Irritation from an unknown source swelled within her at Alduin's ignorance but the girl suppressed it and continued nicely. "I mean...those crests you have..." That was when Alduin gave a dark frown.

"They are not." Just like that.

"Wha-?" Cyril wanted to retort back, wanted to give thousand and one reasons why the crests were just so attractive, wanted to even touch one of them and show it to Alduin right in his face. Then she was cut-off by Alduin slamming shut the crystal case with a final 'clack', blocking the three gems out of her view. At that very instant, whatever that had been egging her on and giving her all those 'wants' disappeared, like a wraith dispersing into thin air. As if on cue, her near-obsession with the crests' beauty vanished, leaving the girl speechless.

"What was I talking about?"

"Don't think about it. It will only make things worse."

Alduin's out-of-the-blue advice surprising the Weapon of Sound, Cyril gazed puzzledly at Alduin, silently asking for an explanation. Noticing her gaze, the pale-skinned teenager stuffed the crystal case back into his pocket. "Has it left your head?"

At the sight of her confused look, Alduin clarified further, giving the case in his pocket an indicating pat. "These crests are vessels of pure power. To normal people, looking at them is just like looking at a very beautifully-wrapped present box, just enticing you to open it. If you don't have that feeling, then the crest probably holds no malice towards you. But if you do...just don't touch them. I can think of a million and two ways in which they can be bad for your health. A million and one of those are fatal. The last one...is worse than death."

Alduin's explanation ringing in her ears, Cyril immediately backed away, the memories of the crests now not looking so gorgeous at the moment. Alduin, eyes cautiously fixed on the sad-faced girl, picked up the trench coat that she had thrown on the ground so disrespectfully just now.

Extending the coat towards her, he reluctantly offered, "You're sure that you don't want my coat?"

Cyril returned with silence. Alduin offered again, this time with insistence. She answered back with a soft "No". Determined, Alduin even placed it in front of her, his brows furrowing at the sight of snow touching against her bare skin. The DJ was even beginning to shiver. There was no way she could ignore the cold.

Yet, the girl persisted, pushing it away. "I don't want it. I don't want to...burden you..."

"Burden me? How so?" Alduin tried to let out a reassuring smile. This girl burdening him? What was she thinking?

"For starters, hitting you in the face..." Alduin noticed his jaw ache again. Okay, that was her fault. "..calling you a pervert..." Oh yeah, he definitely remembered that. Her voice still rings through his head. "...fighting with you..." It wasn't that bad. "..allow myself to get taken in by the stones..." That's it? Pfft.

"And let you die."

At that moment, Alduin's random thoughts came to a halt. Cyril's last words hit Alduin hard. He definitely was not expecting her to say that. Unnerving memories of his supposed death at the hands of Odahving came flooding back, reminding of that feeling of emptiness. If it won't for that singularity his death somehow managed to induce, he would have been lying down here in a pool of blood. Worse, Death City would have been left entirely at the mercy of the Chaos Kishin.

But what Alduin couldn't understand was why Cyril was blaming herself for his 'death'. Sure, she had been fighting alongside him but his defeat was simply representing the sheer difference in power between him and Odahving. It had nothing to do with her ineptitude whatsoever. On the contrary, she had shown herself to be a very capable fighter, using her intangibility and sonar speed to knock Odahving about. It was only when Odahving had gotten pissed enough that the battle tide had turned. There's nothing wrong with that.

Then, why is she blaming herself? Alduin really wanted to ask her about it but when he noticed her eyes avoiding his, he decided against it. A friendlier approach was more suitable. Forcing an ear-to-ear grin, Alduin tried to speak to Cyril in a joking manner. "Die? What do you mean by die? I'm still right here, as lively as ever. You don't need to blame yourself for anything."

Unfortunately, unlike simple-minded Nirnian worshippers, Cyril could easily tell what he was trying to do. Her emerald eyes sparkled with filling sadness, much to Alduin's alarm, and she seemed to clam up even more, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Thanks...for trying to cheer me up..."

Utter failure. At the sight of the depressed girl, Alduin could not help but feel irritated.

You can hate him for being a selfish ass but truly, this time he was not at fault. Here he was trying to help, just like before, and this little brat remains all moody and self-piteous. First, she punched him in the jaw. Then, she got in a catfight with him. After that, she gave him more trouble by getting enchanted by Sins and Virtues. Not to mention that she pouts and whines much to his annoyance.

Now that he thought of it, maybe he shouldn't help her after all. Feeling the wind cut through his long-sleeved shirt like old Santa Claus' blade(if he had one), Alduin felt his gaze moving towards the trench coat held out in his outstretched arm. That particular hand, covered over by the thick protective coat, felt much warmer in stark contrast to the stinging cold the atmosphere had inflicted on him. As a consequence, the rest of his body longed for the same blanket of warmth. Alduin wanted to resist the temptation but he could not. Guess if Miss Moody over there won't take it, he will. After all, he is a god. At the same time, a second thought came through his head and this one made him grin.

"Alright...alright..." A satisfactory smile on his face, he raised his hands up in resignation and retracted his offer. "Since you don't want any help, I give up..."

"Huh?" Witnessing this sudden change in character, Cyril's jaw was left hanging as the boy with his midnight hair fitted himself snugly in his equally black trench coat, even giving out a sigh of relief, enjoying what warmth the coat was bestowing on him. Truth to be told, her entire body had been screaming at her all this while to take the coat, but her overwhelming shame and guilt prevented the girl to do so. As her body shivered in the chilly wind, her shaking breath formed a mist in front of her numb face and her hands rubbed against her uncontrollable legs in a measly attempt to generate heat. At the same time, Alduin was sitting right in front of her giving sighs of relaxation, as if he was bathing in the middle of a hot luxurious sauna. Was his coat really that great?

No matter how many times she tried to remind herself of her guilt, no matter how fast she tried to rub her hands up and down, the blistering cold was a giant claymore, its iciness cleaving through her as if she was nothing more than air. Add in that the sight of Alduin savoring the comfort of his coat...it was just too much. Her cold teeth chattering against each other, she softly uttered, "I...want..."

And she got the shock of her life.

_"Here."_

It all happened in a flash. Alduin must have kept himself ready for this, for at the very millisecond she finished speaking the word "want", he already had removed the coat and draped it around her, a fisherman throwing out his net.

At first, Cyril was too stunned to react, simply pausing there while letting the VERY comforting warmth rush through her. Once she realized she had been tricked, she tried to pull the coat off, but Alduin was aptly prepared. His hands were already planted firmly on her shoulders, pinning the coat over her. Cyril screamed, pulled, tugged, yelled, punched, kicked, flailed but Alduin's firm hands endured, himself watching with a face of indifference. "I don't want to burden you any further!" Cyril proclaimed amidst her dripping tears, her hands reaching out for her headphones.

"FO!"

Just before she could pull them down, a deep awe-inspiring voice rang through the mountain air and Cyril heard the 'click-clack' of rapid freezing. Her struggles ceasing at the wake of the sound, the girl slowly turned just in time to see Alduin wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

And beside him, a tall tear-drop-shaped structure of ice stood. This structure wasn't like your typical iceberg or snowman. This ice was transparent, like an ice-cube. Except this structure would probably be made out of thousands of ice-cubes, for it easily dwarfed her at a height of 3 meters. Nothing special, especially in the backdrop of towering mountains, but the aesthetic smoothness of the surface, the glistening reflections of snowflakes and the unusual feeling that the structure was spinning made the whole thing look like one giant tear-drop-shaped disco ball. Its sight made Cyril catch her breath, flashes of fun and joy running through her DJ mind. The tears on her face no longer felt frosty cold, but comfortingly warm. And all this while, Alduin removed his hands from her shoulder, a gentle smile on his pale face.

Recovering from the brilliant luster of the masterpiece, Cyril asked Alduin in puzzlement. "Why did you...?"

Alduin giggled and rubbed the back of his head apologetically. "I just wanted to show you that I can fire frost breaths and that hence as a frost-controller, I can handle the cold. I didn't think that the climate would result in me making an icicle..."

At that moment, Cyril noticed Alduin's arms stiffening in an effort to stop his cold-induced shivering and she instantly knew that he was lying through his teeth. But when her eyes met with his, she could not help but feel that to reject him this time would be truly cold-hearted. No pun intended. "Icicle? Well...if it's an icicle,...it's a beautiful one."

"So..." A pleased smile inching up his face, Alduin waited for her response in anticipation.

Cyril nodded and allowed her arms to slip into the coat, enveloping her in evermore comfort. She gave an acknowledging nod, even blushing as she let her head down. "Thanks...for the coat...and the icicle..."

It was just the words that Alduin wanted to hear. Within himself, every one of his brain cells was probably partying away at their success. At the same time, his body cells were not pleased with him, the piercing numbness of the cold coming back to haunt them. He didn't really give a damn. As he watched the girl enjoy his coat, he felt like a god once more. A true god. One that gives blessings to those who deserved it.

In a moment of silent memory, Alduin remembered the times in Nirn when peace was prevalent. Those days were truly beautiful. The Halls would sparkle in worshipped majesty. The servant sprites would flit about with a bit more jump than usual. Gods chit-chat joyfully with one another, even practicing human expressions like slapping each other in the back. Books glistened with starch white pages as if their age was removed from them. Even Talos, the God of War, was merrier in the times of peace, chanting that his workload had became much lighter. Some of the more pleasant Daedric Princes even come for a visit and they would have a friendly drinking match with the Divines, followed by an all-out bar fight of great merriment and elation.

Alduin remembered the time when Sheogorath visited, bringing with him more cheese than a billion cows and ten billion cheese makers could make in a hundred billion years. Alduin was never a fan of the literally rotting piece of food, but in those times of peace, he and Paarthurnax would help themselves along with everyone else. Half of that galactic load went into their stomachs, while the other half was presented to Yggdrasil, the Great Tree of Creation, the very air being dominated by that grandmother of photosynthesis.

Ah...those were the good times...

Then there were the bad.

Alduin stopped himself there. Dwelling into the dark ages was never a good idea. He cannot waver. No wavering at all times. Since he (somehow) managed to get Cyril back to her normal self, the two of them should probably head back to the DWMA. No doubt by now a lot of people would have already roused from their slumber by then. Oh yes, he remembered something. Spying the still unconscious Death and Spirit, Alduin gestured to get Cyril's attention. He may not be as book-savvy as Paarthurnax but at least a plan on what to do next was already forming in his mind.

"Okay, Cyril. Here's what we do. We bring Death and Spirit back to the Academy and let them get medical treatment. When Death recovers, he will be able to take things in his own hands. Even though they are...cubey...and...weird..."

So much for a plan. He got distracted within the first ten seconds. Blame it on the unusual biological anatomy of Earth.

Looking upon the usually dead-serious fighter showing a funny side, Cyril giggled. "I guess you can say it like that."

Alduin was about to retort in an attempt to regain his image but then, his acute hearing suddenly picked up something. It could be the rustle of the trees or the howl of the wind or simply his imagination, but as he waited to clarify, the pitter-patter of running footsteps against the cobbled streets could be easily distinguished. Cyril seemed to hear it too, despite the fact that she was wearing her trademark headphones. Both of them exchanged knowing glances.

Someone was coming. It could be Xeal, Crona or any meister in the academy. Or an intruder.

Alduin would not take his chances, his fingers already ringing around the rough grip of his claymore. With Cyril holding her headphones at the ready, the two of them made their way towards the alleyway that the footsteps seem to echo from. As the bleak shadows of the alley walls obscured their view down it, the duo stopped right at the corner leading up into it, the leading Alduin peeking out to scout into the pitch darkness. The shadowy appearance of the alley made the approaching sound of heavy boots running over the paved route more eerie than ever, placing Alduin on the edge.

It took a pat from Cyril for Alduin to realize that he was hyperventilating and he struggled to control his rouge breath. Truth to be told, the fight with Odahving had severely shaken him. Alduin found himself hesitant of his ability to fight. His arms were like a deadweight and his claymore felt more of a burden than a weapon. But when the footsteps have reached a volume that showed how close the unknown strangers were, Alduin remembered that he could not afford to look weak-kneed, especially at times like this. His grip on his heavy claymore tightening, Alduin summoned up all the bravura he had, puffed up his chest, roared a fierce war-cry, raised his blade, rounded the corner and ran straight into a screaming Felix.

Bang!

**Longest chapter I have ever written! 5369 words! Sorry for the late update but I have been having writer's block for a while. Also, I had indulged myself into too much video gaming and wasted precious time that could be spent on my precious story. (My precious...)...Anyway! Maybe it was for the greater good 'cause I got meself a new idea for another story and it will be around God Eater Burst. I call it God Cooker. I won't be launching this story until much much later but just to let you guys know. Please continue to R&R and **

**To reven228 – Thanks for your OC submission and it has been accepted. And actually, you do not need to give a number for magicka and stamina. Give a rough expression of how it is like, such as Olympic-level or Superhuman, just to name a few. Furthermore you forgot to include the Shadowcloak of Nocturnal which is the invisibility power Nocturnal bestows upon you for the Skeleton Key. I will include that unless you say otherwise. To everyone else reading this, if you wish to submit for an Elder Scrolls character, your OC cannot be the Thieves Guild Master; it has been taken by reven already.**

**So we have two new OCs joining the crew, (I guess I better get a bigger house for these tenants.) ****reven's ****Tiberious 'Tiber' Secumulos and Colossal Fighter GX's Jason Hutchins, a meister. To those who want to PM their OC to me, please have your topic written as OC(in capital) so that I can see them clearly in my inbox.**

**The next two chapters will be an OC situation report and the next bio on Time, the Concept of Time. After that we will see how Alduin reacts to Felix and Santosh.**

**And how Alduin gets arrested.**

**Tata!**


	81. Extras: Time Bio

**BIO TIME!**

**Hello again guys, so as if have promised before, it's time for me to write about a certain Concept we know as Tim-**

**Ahhh..YAWWWNNN...Oh bother...It's been a long time since I've managed to find another singularity. I wonder how long do I have to talk to my grandson...Oh..(giggle)..Looks like I've accidentally knocked out the author. Sorry boy, but the only one who can have the time to write about Time is me. So I guess it's time for me to get cracking.**

**Name:** Time; What you may now know to be that time on your little computer clock, currently my name over here is 5.23 PM; The Great Mighty LORD!(I'm joking. Yes I can tell jokes. Want to hear one? Because it will blow your mind!)

**Nationality:** Singaporean, American, Japanese, Antartican, Artican, African, Swedish, German, Earthian, Martian, Milky-Way-ian, Alpha-Centaurian, you get the point.

**Age:** 13 702 314 159 years 9 months 25 days 5 hours 39 minutes 24 seconds old

**Alias:** Time; As my grandson calls me, Ji ji or Ancient man; As Junior calls me, Senior.; It's now 5.30 PM!

**Music Theme: **Inception Soundtrack –_Time_

**Biography:**

So where shall I start? Perhaps I could recount the time when I've seen you humans as mere little bacteria swimming in the never-ending ocean of primordial Earth, or maybe when the first stars were born before that...Or I could start from the first time I had human liver for a snack...Hey! Don't look at me, just as animal livers were a delicacy to you, your livers were to us. I was even half-way eating a bag of commercially produced livers right here before I stopped here. Want some? They taste great, especially with galactic dust and comets added in. No? Aww...you're missing out...Om nom nom nom...

Oh yes, back on track, where should I start? Hmmm...How about 13.7 billion years ago? Ah yes! That should do. It brings back pretty good memories, some of which have so much explosive action that I'm sure if you can remember what I remember, your human brain will spontaneously combust. Urgh! Procrastinated again, better get back to business. Back then, I was just a youngling, probably about 2 million years old. And before you ask, yes, I can remember this far back. Unlike some silly little version that some of your kind boast of, I have perfect perpetual memory. It can be yours if you give away just about everything you have. Side effects are only minor, ranging from internal combustion, instantaneous vaporization, death and immortality to total complete erasure of your existence and history...

Wait a second, back to topic!

It was just on my usual days, sleeping away the millennia in the Void as always. The only thing ever accompanying me was just this tiny little bright point. I always looked upon it at fascination. Okay...maybe not "always". I got pretty bored of it in a quick century or two. But that's beside the point. I'm sure you humans know of the Big Bang. That little one star exploding into a brilliance of universal dust, light and gas and thus the Universe as you know it was born. Being there myself, I must say it was a very spectacular movie. I even had the marvelous Big Bang heat of 4 trillion degrees, the perfect oven to make some of my homemade popcorn (salted, not buttered mind you.) I'm sure if your human critics ever come to watch this movie, they will truly be burnt away by its sheer dazzling awesomeness. Unfortunately the next movie screening of the Big Bang would probably in a few trillion years away from now but I can wait. After all, I have all the time in the world...or universe to be exact...or dime-

Ouch! Damn, I said too much. One of these damning 1000 laws on me: You are forbidden from speaking about things that were blah blah blah years ago. Pfft. Who cares? I'm more than happy to retell my experience with Jesus himself. Fine lad he was and the culture he created is so OUCH!... Stupid law...Sigh...I guess I better stick to the relevant bits.

So, kids, what do you want to know about ancient old me? What was I doing to my two little assistants Felix and Santosh? That's a secret. Where was the little forgotten book I passed to Alduin? Secret again. Who was that Thanatos fellow? Sorry, secret. Why do I write so slow? Well, that's because I'm tired and hungry. Next. What is the secret of life? Sorry, no immortality for you. Next. Who else will die in this fanfiction? First things first, this isn't a fanfiction. It's a real universe, just not where you are right now. And who will die? Well, I have a list right here, so let me just take it out- OUCH! Damn...Law no.437: Do not reveal the times of deaths to anyone. So in short, secret. Sorry, kids.

**Personality:**

So about this, what can I say? That I am awesome? That as the Concept of Time, I am an absolute entity who knows all and feels all? That I have the right mind to give you so much information that your brain explodes in a second?

...

(looks at frozen author)

...

...

Truth to be told, I think it's in the universe's best interest that I put down the guise for now. No faking, no funniness, no laziness, just the real me. Sigh...Hahaha...I always find myself having trouble to talk heart-to-heart, especially with mortals. Guess that is what happens when you don't really have anyone to answer to other a bunch of voiceless unfeeling chains. So, where...shall I...start?

...

I guess, my opinion of mortals would be a good point to begin. Now before you think I will rambling about how Concepts are infinitely better than mortals, I can assure you that you are sorely mistaken. Because we, Concepts, Gods, 'Mortals' are actually all mortals.

Well, let's all understand the definition of a mortal: a being whose is liable to death, one whose has a limited lifespan. In other words, a mortal dies. But that would mean that I, plus every other Concept, are part of this classification. You've heard it yourself: I was 2 million years old when the Big Bang happened. So I have a start; I just don't know how I actually came to be. Honestly, I don't. I can relate to you all of the universe's secrets, all of life's formulas and all of history's controversies but the knowledge regarding my birth is unknown even to one such as myself. However there is one thing that I know for certain. Whatever that has a start, has an end. So we are all living creatures with their own time limits on us. It's just that some of these limits are much longer than others. I myself feel sometimes that I only represent a simple dimension of Time, that there is some higher-order being that governs an even more expansive version of my realm. Remember what I had once said about there being no entity in the 5th dimension. I was actually unsure about that. He could be up there right now, no doubt sleeping in a perpetual state, while at the same time subconsciously meddling with our time limits, like little turning gears on one of his billion clocks. He might not even notice the very battle taking place on Earth. It is probably no more obvious to him than the biological processes in one of your trillion superficial cells to you.

And yet, even he may have his own time limit.

It is utterly perplexing to think beyond one's own dimension, to even try to understand the entities that reside in it. That person above might even have a person above him and that person above him might have another one above him and so on and so forth. I could try to go on but that is the limits of a four-dimensional Concept's perception. In the end, we all must ask ourselves: where did this all begin? Who is at the very top of this inter-dimensional hierarchy? You can try, like myself, to theorize, calculate, hypothesize, imagine, prove your way up the hierarchal ladder. But no matter how you can try, you will never be able to see for yourself without any real evidence. The only evidence of a post-Concept entity would be these 1000 Chains of Laws strung around my legs and they present little hint to the answers I seek. I had had 14 billion years to dwell on these questions and still I have failed to obtain an answer that satisfyingly 'clicks'. Sigh...I am not asking for you three-dimensional humans to try to find the answer. And I cannot tell you how far I have gotten in this area. Not just because of the laws, but also the very literary limitation of the English Language comprising of a mere 26 letters will not be enough for me describe the full magnitude of the multi-dimensional thinking I had to go through.

...Seems like I had allowed my mind to digress from my original intention. This is one of my personality flaws: I always find myself drifting off at the wrong moment. No doubt my grandson is pretty embarrassed by me asking about his relationships out of nowhere. And Akatosh, my Junior...he probably hates me for wasting precious father-son time disappearing to think for millennia on ends, searching for this 'answer'. I can't even garner enough physical action to change myself out of these starry pajamas of mine and even now, typing down these words seemed to be taking hours. The little author frozen beside me remains unaware of what has happened and I wonder how long this singularity seems to be holding.

At the same time, I worry for Alduin. He might have persuaded me to give him the contract but after a quick peek at what Chaos and Order have up their sleeves, I question whether he could hold against the dragon forces that he is about to face. Furthermore, the void of Time is speaking to me, speaking of rumors bruiting through the world, rumors about otherworldly warriors and alien-like fighters. I hear of a certain lizard knight prowling through the streets of an unknown town, acting as a sort of vigilante of temperance. I also catch whispers of a katana-wielding man, alleged to open his mouth to reveal long sharp canines, like those of a vampire's. Somewhere else, exceedingly close to Death City, another one is rumored to be a very dark-hearted thief, who has unusual artifacts on his body, each one possessing great power. One of them is said to be a razor, which can take your life with one slash. Another artifact a book said to be able to teach its reader skills that would have taken years to develop. Two rings of unknown powers and finally a star-like object, which seems to trap one's very soul.

I wonder who would dare to steal these artifacts from the Daedric Princes, for my vision is clouded by the almost impossible collection of such potent items. Whether this particular individual is for our good or our undoing, I do not know. But I cannot tarry with my wild thoughts. Already I can hear the singularity cracking here and there. I guess I don't really have that much time.

**Powers:**

Well I can't say that I am truly omnipotent, especially with these 1000 chains wrapped around me. But as a Concept and more importantly the Master of time, I can definitely say that I am the most powerful entity in the current universe you know of. Simply rolling about in my sleep could probably be enough to cause a mighty chain of reactions, which could very easily initiate the instantaneous cataclysm of any random planet I brushed against. Even the physical form I am taking of as an old man in pajamas is nothing more than my shadow, while my true body and being remains invisible to three-dimensional beings like you. I might be sounding arrogant and overly boastful but this view of our power's dominance is shared by all of the Concepts out there. Right now, the battle on Earth may be just a simple chess game for that one-track-minded Order, with every tiny organism a micro-piece in his grand strategy of absolute victory. As for Chaos, with such a crazy and unpredictable mind, he might actually picture himself as playing a game of chance and that every death in this war will be nothing more than random collateral damage. The only reason that Earth and its residents still live is that the two Concepts are opposing each other. The yin-and-yang-like contrast in their natures cancels out each other's effect on that tiny golf ball known as Earth. That is why it is so crucial that the Sins and Virtues must be used at the same time, because if only one of the Concepts retreat from the fight, then the other brother will be left unchallenged, needing little time to send Earth and the universe crumbling for an easy hole-in-one.

And I won't be able to stop him. The chains of Law state that I, as the true holder of power(whatever that means), am not allowed to fight with other Concepts directly. Actually, now that I mentioned the chains, I think it is better that I leave the extent of my abilities to your wondrous imagination and instead tell you something much easier to understand: the 1000 Laws themselves. But judging from the rate of deterioration of this singularity, I think I will only be able to reveal 7 of these laws and so here are the first 7 laws that come to mind.

Law 1: Time must always march on forward, never backwards. Punishment will be immediate erasure.

Law 35: Time shall always drink specially prepared white tea every minute. Punishment will be pains in the neck and mild dehydration.

Law 42: Time must prevent any knowledge of the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. Punishment will be erasure by infinite improbabilities.

Law 147: Time is granted the permission to rest in singularities, but never shall he show his true form. Punishment will be unnecessary, for his true form will destroy the dimension.

Law 329: Time is allowed to present contracts to encountered individuals but never shall he allow the bending of time. Punishment will be an infinite period of torture and finally utter erasure.

Law 846: Time is allowed to create new Concepts but only when the individual is of worthy blood. Punishment will be corruption of said Concept.

Law 1000-

Looks like I have much less time than I thought. I wanted to finish writing the 1000th law but I guess the singularity is too fragmented to hold for any longer. So I hope that you have learned much about me through my biography and now I will have to 'persuade' the author to put this up without reading what I wrote.

So long and may the blessing of the Void be with you.

Because you will need it.


	82. Odahving Chapter 31

"FUUUUUUUU-."

That was the first thing Felix could hear as he fell backwards from the collision into the lean muscular dark-haired teenager. Simultaneously, that teenager seemed to have been totally unaffected by the crash, continuing to stand there with that ginormous black claymore over his head, while spouting out what Felix thought to be the first two letters for a certain adolescent profanity.

Unfortunately, he immediately found that he was utterly wrong.

"-SSSSS RO DA!"

And as his limp body descended towards the snowy ground, the boy could feel the tips of his flying blonde hair being blown through by what was possibly a massive force. At the same time, a terrifying blue wave sailed right over his face, emitting a roar so thunderous that his eardrums rang painfully. A few more moments of falling seemed to slow down to a perpetual crawl and Felix's eyes were able to see the shockwave crashing through the roof of a house overhead, the red tiles and even the underlying support being ripped of like simple play-things. His utterly overwhelmed mind did not know how his collider managed to perform such an incredible feat, but as the Californian finally dropped to the ground, he was certain that the wave could have easily blown away his head.

The one standing above him, that black-haired man with his giant claymore, must be trying to kill him. "No shit Sherlock!" One part of his mind proceeded to smugly snap at him but he ignored it, totally petrified by the aura of anger formed by this individual. However, when he opened his mouth to give out another life's worth of screaming, he felt a hot and painful sensation running through his swollen vocal cords. Apparently he had already yelled too much and his voice paid the price, becoming too hoarse and strained to give even a decent scream.

So instead of a fearful "YAAAAHHHH!"...

"Squeak."

Instantaneous embarrassment ran through Felix as he let out the mousiest of squeaks. Great..._just_ great. Now he's squeaking like a puny mouse and the one right in front of him would undoubtedly squish him like one as well. Though his confident climbing nature chastised him for this timorous behavior, Felix could not care less. In the face of death, who would not be terrified?

Especially when it is about to be dulled by such a dark and evil-looking messenger.

'I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Felix concluded as his eyes no longer held the teenager in focus. In this blurred vision, he beheld the awesome sight of the draconic claymore, descending towards his head. As the shimmering edge of the black blade closing in became the only thing left in his sight, the gruesome image of it cleaving right through, with blood and all, flashed before him.

Yep, he's going to die. So long to global headlines. So long to the Guinness Book of World Records. So long to the privilege of proving all those who doubted him wrong. Oh, and did he mention he was going to die?

Then, like a big damn hero, Santosh came charging in. "YAARGH!"

As he laid there on the cold cobblestone ground, Felix speechlessly witnessed the black blur of a man ramming straight into the teenager American-football-style. Caught off-guard by the burly Nepalese climber, the teenager was knocked off his combat-booted feet, giving out defiant huffs of anger as he fell. Its owner losing his balance, the giant sword slipped out of his hand, plunging straight into the snowy ground right between Felix's spread legs.

Chips of rock was flung out, some bouncing off Felix's shocked face, the kid stunned by how close he was to losing his manhood.

However, a grunt of pain grabbed Felix's attention and he looked up in time to see Santosh being pushed back by the teenage male. Stumbling back from the male's surprising strength, the Nepalese suddenly reached for his backpack and then pulled out two climbing pickaxes, clearly not reluctant to use them against this opponent. Brandishing them mencingly at his opponent, Santosh managed to get the teenager to stay a safe distance away. As the two adversaries circled each other, each one seemed to be noticing the other's movements and seeking out for any possible weak spots.

At the same time, the spectating Felix watched his guide position the pickaxe in his right hand at the same level as his head and the left-handed one in front of him for a steady defense. It was not the fanciest of stances but when Felix looked over the man from head and toe, he noticed how stable and strong Santosh's form was. Not something you can form without any appropriate experience.

"Since when did he...know how to fight?" he wondered out loud, only for the man to give him a knowing smile over his shoulder, his sprouting Verdi-styled beard showing off white frost at its ends.

"(Nepalese) When you spent half your life climbing a place as treacherous as Everest, the temptation of killing another climber for his supplies is always present. My self-honed skills are to prevent that."

Sensing the confidence of his guide/protector, Felix could feel a part of him sigh in relief. Santosh seemed perfectly capable of subduing this thug of a teenager boy. But when Felix turned his eyes onto that male, he suddenly felt uneasy when he noticed the corners of his lips turn up, forming an obvious sneer. Though it seemed that the warrior did not understand what Santosh had said, he appeared fully aware that this Nepalese man in front of men was intending to take him on. And yet he definitely did not seem worried at all.

Why? Santosh had the obvious advantage with the climbing axes. Felix's mind suddenly went back to the very fresh memory of that blue force wave sailing right over him, then proceeding to rip a roof of its very support. And that man did that with his _voice_.

"So..."

Felix gasped when the adolescent spoke out of the blue. And as he did, the man naturally gave off a very unnerving air of regality. One that Felix did not think would be possible with such a young-looking teenager. Better yet, it felt like something that only a god could possibly give off. While Felix was a firm atheist, this man in front of him, with his aura of majesty and condescending tone, made him doubt his belief for a moment.

And even listen on intently as the man continued on. "...a pathetic person like you would dare to take me on. Tell me, brazen one, the names of yourself and your scrawny little companion." _Scrawny little companion_? Felix had to take offence. He was possibly the youngest Six-Summiter in the world. That does not exactly make him very scrawny and little.

Not to mention that Santosh cannot understand English. That fact made itself clear when the Nepalese raised his bushy eyebrows quizzically, incapable of comprehending a single word of what he said. As a final expression of his confusion, the 40-year old titled his head to the side. "(Nepalese) What?"

An awkward silence followed, with Santosh still trying to juggle the words in his mind and with the teenage male still trying to juggle the fact that his opponent can't understand him in _his_ mind. However, with his mental load clearly much lighter, the teenager quickly broke the silence with a realizing sigh. "I guess you can't understand me. Even if I spout rubbish at you, it will still sound the same to you.

"But...if I was to skewer you through and through, I bet I will be able to beat my message into your head..."

Sporting a smug grin, the teenager promptly raised his fist into the air. At that tense moment Felix could feel an overpowering sensation running through his bones, his mind simultaneously reflecting on the opponent's words. Skewer Santosh? With what?

And his answer: "Soul Focus..."

In a blink of an eye, a mixture of crackling and burning filled the air as the teenager's raised arm was coated in ravenous black flames, while similarly coloured electricity created crack-like patterns around them. Felix's jaw dropped to the ground.

"No way! There is no way that is real! His...his...arm is BURNING!" Felix quickly turned to Santosh, his confidence in his guide all but obliterated. "(Nepalese) Santosh, get away from him! He's...not...not...NORMAL!" And Santosh, hearing the words of his client, had fear flashing in his dark brown eyes for a brief moment. "(Nepalese) Please! Just get away!" Begging as he begun to pick himself up, Felix's eyes spoke volumes of his concern and for a second, Santosh seemed to relax in resignation. A moment later, his arms shot back to firmness when the teenager's frustrated voice interrupted them.

"Will you stop talking in that incomprehensible language? It's making my head hurt!" The teenager grinned as he flexed his burning right arm. As if on a silent command, the black inferno concentrated into an ominous dark ball surrounding his fist, like a mini black star _(no pun intended)_ in a perpetual solar flare. "So just tell me your names and I will forget all this never happened!"

At that sudden offer, Felix saw his chance to save themselves. Without a moment's hesitation, he quickly took the initiative. "My name is Felix White! I'm a mountaineer!" Felix yelled over the roaring crackle of the flaming fist. And he sighed in relief when the teenager's piercing eyes turned to look him. Good, he got his attention. "This is my guide, Santosh. We don't mean any harm! We can just talk this over instead of fighting!"

For a second there, the blonde thought that the teenager was considering his proposal and he hurriedly gestured to the still frowning Santosh to lower his stance. Then, all of a sudden, the teenager gave a hoot of laughter. Not good. "Like hell I would believe that a little twit like you would be a mountaineer! Go home and play with your little toy soldiers or something like that! OR MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET INCINERATED!" A look of utter horror was pasted on Felix's face, prompting his noticing guide to put himself back into stance. However, that was not going to be a lot of help. The duo were forced to watch in awe-and-fear-inspired anticipation as the teenager pulled back his fist. "GET OUT OF MY WA-!"

"ALDUIN!" Hearing a female voice call out, Felix gasped when a yellow-haired girl, with striking emerald eyes and a non-matching black trench coat draped over her, shot out from the corner, her hand reaching out to grab the wrist of the teenager called Alduin. "Aaagh!" A cry of pain pierced through the air when stray tongues of black fire licked at the girl's excessively close hand, giving it a nasty scald. Forced to let his wrist go, the girl cried again as she tripped down onto the ground, clutching her scalded hand in clearly unbearable pain. It all happened so fast, in no less than a few seconds, leaving Felix and Santosh unable to react.

As for Alduin, his face twisted into an ugly mishmash of horror, apology, anger and shock. "Cyril, you ignorant idiot!" His burning fist still holding his two stunned opponents at fireball-point, Alduin crouched beside the cringing girl, his free hand scooping up a pile of snow and pouring it over the girl's scalded hand. As Cyril's teeth clenched at the sudden wave of pain when heat meets cold, Alduin cooed comfortingly to her. "Endure the pain. It will go away..." And then his eyes looked at the two still watching climbers, instantly hardening at the sight of them. "And YOU! Are you two going to stand there and become snowmen or do I have to personally thaw you out?"

"Hu...huh?" Felix gasped at the hidden message behind Alduin's fierce words. "Are you...?"

"I'm calling a temporary truce!" Alduin acknowledged angrily as he gazed concernedly at Cyril's hand. An advancing patch of red showed where she had been scalded by the flames. His concerned look deteriorated into a scowl when he turned to the duo once again. "If you guys really are climbers, then I'm sure one of you at least knows some first aid, am I right?"

**3 minutes later,**

Cyril looked at her hand uneasily, her mind no longer overwhelmed by the searing hot pain. The burning from Alduin's flames had been minor at most and all it left behind was a reddened part of her skin, which still stung at her meticulous touch. Kneeling a few feet away from her were the three males, now talking over about their misunderstanding which, by the way, was entirely Alduin's fault. Then again, she had actually waited behind the corner, hoping for him to be mature enough to appropriately handle the situation. Instead, he went off ranting and roaring and then...you know what happened next. Sweatdrop.

Sighing in frustration at the silly folly of her 'partner', the DJ girl looked over her hand once again, a glossy layer covering where her skin was beet-red. It was a burn ointment carried by the much older climber of the two. Santosh, wasn't it? Cyril recalled the initial jolt the viscous liquid gave her when it came in contact with her smarting palm, even though the good-hearted man had already poured cold water over the scald. It had led her to be apprehensive at first. However, after some waiting out, Cyril could feel the ointment distinctly working, making her skin feel cooler and fresher. The middle-aged climber, in his soothing voice, had told her in Nepalese that it was a small gift from one of his mountaineering clients and had been made from aloe vera.

Of course, she could not understand, his Nepalese language, so the little kid named Felix White had to help her translate. The boy, with his ash-blonde hair cut to a very short length, had been particularly helpful in getting them to communicate with his guide. However, Cyril did not know what to make of him, especially when she was told that they were in the middle of the Himalayas and just 20 kilometers away from the legendary Mount Everest. A boy so young, climbing the Roof of the World? Sure, she had heard of the famous 13-year old Jordon Romero doing the very same climb but that was with his father and his father's girlfriend. This Felix boy is doing it at 12 years old, with the help of only one guide, and even has to lug with him a giant sword to boot.

Speaking of that sword, when she observed the conversation between the men going on, she could not help but notice that intricately patterned 2-meter sword embedded into the ground beside Alduin's draconic claymore Day Star, the two equally long blades easily dwarfing the little climber kid in front of them. How did he managed to get such a sword she did not know, but when she saw Alduin pointing towards the blade, she guessed that he was asking the same exact question.

Guess she better join in with the conversation.

**Finally! A new chapter. Thanks for being patient and hope you like this one. Thanks to those who review and those who submitted their OCs. At the moment I am coming up with how Alduin will be standing trial in the future, so you can look forward to a good trial scene. For the next chapter, just sit back and watch Alduin and Cyril get acquainted with the climbers, along with Maka and Soul reawaking for a nasty shock.**

**So, stay tuned and continue to eat your donuts!**


	83. Odahving Chapter 32

"Ok, I admit it. That was my fault..."

It pained Alduin to see himself apologizing to two mortals he was totally unacquainted with. But the Santosh dude was crossing his arms in front of him right now, insisting, in his unusual language of course, that he apologize before they talk any more. So, sucking in his brewing irritation and reluctance, Alduin had to appease the stubborn man.

Not cool for a god. Especially when he clearly had had the upper hand in that previous bout. To bow down to an obviously weaker opponent is just plain humiliating. His intentions now on saving face, Alduin continued on, "...but it was that little runt over there that had 'accidentally' bumped into me. If you want to blame someone, blame him."

And much to Alduin's surprise, the Felix kid, who had been playing translator between the two of them, blindly translated the words to his much bulkier definitely did not even try to understand who Alduin had been referring to.

As if noticing what was wrong, Santosh proceeded to show a gentle smile towards the blonde boy, expecting him to realize what Alduin was talking about. For a few seconds, an unusual silence permeated through the air as the two older men tried to "_stare"_ their silent message into the brain of the oblivious Felix.

"WAIT A SECOND!" And they got through. "WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT ME?" Offended, Felix pointed an accusatory finger at Alduin's face, a gesture that brought Alduin bad memories of a particular holy sword.

(Cue brief Excalibur-face)

"Don't point at my face!" His teeth gritted at the imagined image of the familiar white cane, Alduin swatted Felix's hand aside, simultaneously growling at the much shorter boy. But the kid had spunk, as he retorted back with renewed energy. "I am Felix White! Expert Climber! 5 Summit Conqueror! And soon-to-be Youngest Everest Climber! And..."

"And the kid who nearly wetted onto his pants a few minutes ago!" Alduin interjected with a smug grin, silencing the youth. "And with some help..." His right arm promptly burst into Soul Focus flames. "You can unload that right now!"

His widened eyes reflecting the glow of the familiar fiendfyre, Felix cautiously backed off. "I don't even know how you managed to do that."

Alduin smiled at the show of fear. Fear was an effective, albeit crude, way to get annoying brats to shut up.

However, he was not going to relish in it.

After all, these were the same flames that had scalded Cyril in a moment of carelessness. It pretty much demonstrated to him that he could not simply play around with them; these were real flames, black as the night itself, with electricity to add into the mix. It had never really occurred to him before that he could hurt someone unintentionally with these...Alduin paused for a break between thoughts. Actually, this had happened before. Him nearly killing Kid when he was in his berserk state. Maka nearly getting skewered by a rouge Lucifer. His Ira state nearly obliterating his friends after he fought Crona. Those were all times Soul Focus, and _him_, has gone out of control.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Alduin was snapped back into reality. "What?"

Felix raised a suspicious eyebrow, his voice laced with concern. "You were staring off into space. Are you okay?"

Regaining part of his senses, Alduin instinctively scowled at the boy. The blonde brat had managed to catch him in a moment of weakness. His tone irritable, Alduin snapped at the runt. "Of course, I'm okay! I've no time to play with your silly imagination, you little _child._"

His light eyebrows knitting together into a frown, the boy gritted his white teeth before retorting. He obviously had enough. "Okay, enough! Cut it out with the 'child' thing! I might be younger than you but I'm not the one _childishly_ asking for a fight! I believe that your comments were inappropriate, especially from someone of your age!"

A look of alarm on his wizened face, Santosh hurriedly tried to stop the two youths but to no avail. But no matter what he said, one of the duo couldn't understand him and the other was too pissed off to even try.

"Inappropriate!" Alduin jeered as his glaring face edged closer towards Felix's. In his mind: This kid has the audacity to mock him? "I'm merely stating the facts! I'm easily 7 years older than you! Are you so blind that you can't see that?"

"I am biologically younger but I am more mature! I can easily prove that much by the way this argument is going!" The two opposing faces were now so close that Alduin could feel Felix's hot breath pounding angrily against his skin like a mini battering ram of air. As voices continued to rise and tempers on their breaking point, Santosh attempted to get between two but he was blatantly ignored. "You don't have the right to speak nonsense about me, no matter how old you are!"

"Oh really?" Alduin glowered, hot raging blood rushing through his head. Veins popping around his lean arms, Alduin pointed towards the two swords standing behind Felix. "Then how about we fight for that right? You and me, one on one. Blade to blade!"

However before he could continue or Felix could reply, a sudden female's voice shouted out to them.

"Alduin!" The familiar voice jolted Alduin out of his blood-thirsty rage and he turned to spot a pouting Cyril plodding up towards them. He did not notice her pouting. He did not notice her fists clenched at her sides, allowing veins to prominently show. he did not notice her steps being wide, strong and definitely angry. Instead, for a second his anger was forgotten and a relieved smile formed on his face. "Cyril! You're oka-"

SLAP!

Santosh and Felix gasped simultaneously at what just happened. As for Alduin, his entire mind was a blank slate, unable to register what had happened in that past second. As he turned back, his black uncomprehending eyes widened when he noticed that the girl in front of him was beginning to cry.

Tears forming at the edges of her emerald eyes, Cyril stared back with her arm flung back after she had slapped Alduin with the back of her hand. Her expression was a contortion of anger, sadness, hatred and shock that Alduin was unable to guess which one she was really feeling.

"Wh-why?" Alduin murmured as he touched the slapped cheek, it's numb trembling skin already reddening from the impact.

For a while, Cyril refused to answer, the girl only standing there with her eyes down towards the ground and her slapping hand visibly shaking. Alduin found himself stunned to stillness when he noticed the tears of the DJ, dropping towards the ground like little droplets of sad rain. Felix and Santosh did not know what to do and so both silently decided to allow Alduin to handle the situation. However, the ex-god himself was dumbstruck and the only thing he could come up with was to walk closer towards the silent Cyril, his arms extending to grab hers.

Her response came quick and fast. Shaking with what seemed like barely controlled fury, Cyril pushed Alduin's comforting arms away, her eyes looking up towards him. The contempt, the anger, the hate, it all made her green irises ever more piercing, forcing the finally understanding ex-god to look away. But Cyril would not have that. "Look at me..."

Alduin did not comply.

"LOOK AT ME!"

Shocked by the tremendous outburst made by the girl, Alduin willed himself to lock eyes with her and under her fierce stare, shame instantaneously took its place in his heart. He swallowed heavily. Ignoring his nervous look, Cyril continued on, streaks of tears now running freely down like unrestrained waterfalls. "Why? Why? WHY? WHY CAN'T YOU BE AS MATURE AS THE ALDUIN I KNEW A FEW MINUTES AGO? THAT ALDUIN BUILT AN ICICLE IN ORDER TO CHEER ME UP! THAT ALDUIN GAVE HIS TRENCHCOAT TO WARM ME! THAT ALDUIN FORGAVE ME FOR ALL THE TROUBLE I HAD BURDENED HIM WITH! THAT ALDUIN EARNED MY RESPECT AND MY TRUST! WHERE DID HE GO IN THESE FEW MINUTES?"

"Cyril...I..." Alduin was at a loss of words, his face one of pure shock. But the girl was NOT going to show any mercy. "Do you love to fight so much? Do you love to antagonize people? Do you love to lose control and mock and hurt those around you? How did you change so fast? One moment you were comforting me and in the next you were hurting not just me, but those two innocent climbers! IF YOU ARE SO OBSESSED WITH FIGHTING AND DEATH, WHY DON'T I JUST TAKE YOU ON RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!" The girl took a fast breath, pausing from her lengthy rampage.

His gaze finally breaking away, Alduin avoided her eyes. His responding voice was nothing more than a soft apologetic whisper. "Cyril...you know I can't...do that..."

"Then why? If you don't want to fight me, why do you insist on fighting them? What good will come out from a fight?"

"Why do you continue to be good and evil at the same time?"

The last question struck home. For a moment, Alduin could not think, his mind silently digesting the words she had said. In the next, a flood of thoughts came crashing in, sweeping him away in their massive tides. One particular thought brought along a memory with it and the words of an ancient man echoed in his head.

_You are inherently evil as the Destruction aspect of time, don't you know that?_

Yes he does know that.

At the word 'evil', he remembered the multiple times he had burst into rage, screamed at others, nearly killed those who he did not want to kill. He had failed to help Odahving. He had failed to help Stein. He had failed to help Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Patty, Liz, Death, Spirit. He had failed to help the hundreds of people who have been eaten by Odahving.

And Lucifer. He failed to help him too. And now, right now, he was going to fail to help Cyril.

_How can you be a good guy when you always seem to fail to help?_

"You don't know how much death I have experienced in my life! Do you even know why I hated to see you die? If you have something to say, say it later. AFTER I BEAT YOU TO A PULP OVER AND OVER AGAIN! IF YOUR JAW ISN'T ALL BROKEN, I'LL LET YOU TALK ALL YOU WANT!" Despite the growing ferocity in it, Cyril's voice was then a distant sound in Alduin's head, as he stood there, unmoving, uncaring, his mentality in a perpetual cycle of self-criticism.

At first, he thought that the madness tendrils will now take this chance to swoop in and take their prize.

They did not.

Then he thought that Ira will intrude into his mind and take advantage of his weakened state to take over.

He did not.

He thought that Day Star will suddenly turn into Lucifer and take his life there and then.

It did not.

His mind was _begging_ for death. He realized that all those previous thoughts were cries for suicide, cries for the denial of his true evil nature, cries for the extinguishment of this ticking time bomb, this massive failure of a hero and this massive success of a villain. And for a second, he felt himself drop his hope, his bloody useless hope. And he found himself unable to pick it back up and so a second became half a minute, half a minute became a minute and a minute became an eternity.

Eternal hopelessness.

His soul bent on giving up, Alduin silently turned his back towards Cyril and begun to plod his way towards Day Star. "Alduin? Hey, Alduin! What are you-" Cyril cried out but once again, her voice was blown away by the cries for death, cries for redemption. His dull hopeless eyes opened at exhausted half-slits, Alduin slowly clasped his fingers around the claymore's grip, every muscle cheering him on to pull it out of the ground.

And to end it.

"ALDUIN!" All of a sudden, Alduin felt a girl push herself into him and in his moment of surprise, he lost his balance and fell back onto the hard ground. As he broke out of his brief daze, he gasped at the girl named Cyril kneeling over him, her tears now dampening the cotton of his long-sleeved shirt. "Cyril...let me go-"

SLAP!

"You weren't listening to me! I hate to see you die!" Her eyes swollen and bloodshot from her crying, Cyril proceeded to slap Alduin's face once again. And she continued on as she spoke to the speechless teenager, her wavering voice slowly deteriorating from anger to sorrow. "You don't know how much death has taken away from me!"

"I've seen my father die!" Slap!

"I've seen my mother die!" Slap!

"I've seen my hearing die!" Slap!

"I've seen my entire world die around me!" Slap!

"And now. Now. Now I...I...I don't want to see you die!" Slap!

That fateful slap was the final one, its force stronger than any of the others before it. And it left Alduin totally overwhelmed, leaving him to lie there with his mouth agape while the girl laid her head against his chest and allowed her feelings to pour out uncontrollably.

"It's...it's not that...I hate the fact that you fight...If you were to fight...for a good cause, I will not...just trust you...I will help you...But...It's just...that you don't seem...to care about...whether you live or die...You don't...seem to cherish your life..."

"You...are not like the gods:...immortal...ever-lasting...inextinguishable...You only have one life...You can never have two of life..."

"So...please...treasure your life...Don't throw it away in some petty fight..."

"I..." Alduin struggled to speak, his mind understanding what she was so worried about. This girl did not hate him for being 'evil' by picking a fight. She did not hate him for his supposedly 'evil' actions. She was just sad about those things.

But what she really had hated him for was his failing to understand the preciousness of his life. Those moments before - the moments way back when he had went on a rampage - was because he knew how vulnerable he was and thus he too was afraid to die. But now, things have changed. Now he had tried to distance himself from that fear, tried to make himself feel strong and confident, tried to make himself feel like a god again. But in truth, he had gone from one extreme to the other and in the end all he was doing was hurting others by sticking to those extremes.

Others, like this girl weeping against his chest, her teardrops forming the same beautiful shape as the icicle Alduin had created, its simple but elegant structure still standing nearby.

"I'm..." Alduin choked on his words, as unprecedented tears of his own begun to leak out of his eyes and roll down his red cheeks. Felix and Santosh, who had been watching the entire scene, wondered what they should do but it was clear that they could do nothing. So they watched on as Alduin finally mustered his voice and said with finality:

"I want to protect not just my life, but yours as well."

"Huh?" Cyril sucked in her hyperventilating breath, caught off guard by Alduin's sudden reply.

"I have experienced death before. Much death. In a life that I cannot tell you about. But I will...I promise you..." Gently pushing the girl back up and off him, Alduin smiled with gratitude as he met eye-to-eye with the listening girl.

"That I will cherish not the life that I had a moment ago, but the life that you have given me now."

"You saved me from a man giving up on his life, a man throwing away his hope, a man holding a sword to his throat. You have not only saved this life of mine, but you have given me a new one. A new life where I can finally use to do good. Cyril Yiuta, thank you. Thank you so much for that."

"Alduin..." Cyril muttered, her eyes squinting as if ready to give way to another river of tears. Alduin nodded in acknowledgement to her, giving her the permission to let it out. As she did, the two of them wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug, with Cyril letting her tears down onto Alduin's receiving shoulder. Alduin, his head on her shoulder, smiled towards the watching Felix, giving an apologetic nod. Felix was only too happy to return it. All's well that ends well.

Or so Felix believed.

_It's begun..._

But in the back recesses of his large divine mind, Alduin knew that he had to act fast. He had not lost the Soul Perception Stein had helped him unlock and right now it had revealed a great many things to him.

_When you go back, you will inevitably be exposed, shunned and then outcast._

Those words of the ancient man still reverberated in Alduin's eardrums. And it was especially distinct now. Since that inevitable moment is almost right upon him.

"Cyril..."

"Yeah...?" Wiping away her remaining tears, the girl, her trademark headphones framing a now smiling face, released them from the hug, with her comforted eyes now gazing at him in friendly anticipation. "What is it?"

"There is something I need to show you..."

Before Cyril could reply or react, Alduin gently placed his hands at the sides of her head and allowed his forehead to touch hers.

And so in the same way it was shown to Odahving, the _truth _was revealed to her. Alduin made sure that every shred of it was given. Anything less and he would have been a hypocrite.

As expected, the girl was left absolutely stunned, her widened eyes still and unmoving, her kneeling body motionless while Alduin picked himself back up.

'Take care of her, will you?' He instructed as he removed Gospel from his wrist, placing into the Cyril's petrified palm.

Noticing the unknowing looks of Felix and Santosh, he smiled to them calmly. "All will be shown in Time. I'm sorry that you mortals have been pulled into this."

And so, with those last words, he pulled out Day Star from the ground, turned towards the glowing souls of those who were watching them and then steadily walked away from the trio.

One final tear, brilliance shimmering within it, dribbled down his cheek and as it sailed towards the snowy floor, Alduin dropped his claymore in front of him with a loud thud. Now it was definite: all of those DWMA policemen have their eyes on him.

"You can come out now! You, all of you, suspect who I really am! And your suspicions are right!"

"I am Alduin, Eldest Son of Akatosh, Grandson of Time, Wielder of the Destruction Aspect of Time, Harbinger of the End Times and World Eater! I am not from your world; I am a Fallen God of Nirn!" And so, Alduin pumped his right arm in front of him and as if on cue, his draconic bones within begun to glow in their harlequin green, revealing their unearthly shape.

"What?" Felix gasped in utter shock. "(Nepalese) What is he saying?" Santosh murmured to him, his eyes awe-struck by the glowing bones. Cyril did not say a word, her blank eyes gazing towards the God she had been with for the past day.

Standing among the policemen watching, JB scratched his Abraham-Lincoln-inspired beard thoughtfully. "This is going to be interesting..."

Obeserving the scene from a roof, a black hooded man with a coffin strapped to his strong straight back shook his head as he sported a knowing smile. "Hajimete imasu."

"Alduin...you are not..." In the medical room, a certain auburn-haired girl moaned as she begun to stir. Finally, her lids opened, revealing her green eyes, wide with realization. "You are not human..."

_Floating in the void he calls home, Time held a grim expression. "This is it."_

_Strolling through the endless darkness of her bracelet, Gospel held her hand against her chest, her lengthy silvery-white hair hiding away the small tears on her face. "I'm sorry...Master..."_

"_You really did it, huh? My son..."_

And standing alone, in the falling snowflakes, on this rugged cobblestone street, with his dragon-hilted claymore lying harmlessly at his combat-booted feet, a raven-haired God, with eyes as dark as midnight and a clothes palette fit for a ninja, gazed expectantly towards the men approaching from all directions. He was trapped. Good. He did not intend to go anywhere else. And so, quelling all remnants of internal resistance, Alduin willed himself to raise his open palms up.

"And I surrender."

**And so it begins. The newest Arc: Tumultuous Times. Thanks in advance for your reviews and I will update soon.**


	84. Extras: OC Guidelines

Hi guys, if you have been reading my story, you would probably know that my name is A.D.

Well you might know it, but I actually AM accepting OCs for this story. So I've decided to make that clear and also provide you some guidelines on the OCs that you can make.

Now before you whip out your lovely OCs, let me show the most basic of rules.

Mary-Sues (people who are so good-hearted that they don't seem to have flaws) will not be tolerated. Richard Nixons (people who have so many flaws they are virtually unwritable) also will not be accepted.

**Recommended number of (basic) flaws: 3-7.** Do not think that the flaws must be super-fatal; they can be anything from being ill-tempered or fighting-obsessed to just downright conceited. Furthermore, madness and physical traits can also be considered as flaws. It isn't always limited to the personality.

You may not be related to any canon character. You may know of the character, (i.e. knowing who Maka is because of her parents, or knowing of Soul because he's an Evens), but you can't be Black*Star's long lost sister. The same goes for the Skyrim characters. If you have a particular want for such a connection, PM me and I will listen to what you have to say.

A Weapon may have more than one mode. That power is **NOT** restricted to Tsubaki. Despite many other OC writers' preference to the contrary, I will allow this trait in the weapons. However, they must possess a certain theme around them, such as Tsubaki and her ninja-theme.

Elemental Weapons/ Cyril-like Weapons are also accepted but they can only have one element. I don't want someone suddenly transforming into fire and then converting into water. However, if you have an element that allows control of the other element, i.e. magma and fire, then I will consider.

You may be a Witch and a Meister/Weapon. Or a Kishin and a Meister/Weapon, for that matter. Also contrary to popular preference. This helps to open the avenue for more flaws and thus more character diversity. But I will only allow 2 types in one person. This is for the Soul Eater OCs.

For the Skyrim OCs, you have the same free choice as in the game itself, so you can be a Companion, Mage, Thieves' Guild all at the same time.

You may not submit more than two Meister/Weapon. (Unless you can't choose between some of your OCs and would rather if I did it.) You may submit however many Kishins/Witches you want, and it is likely they will all be used. (There may _possibly_ be exceptions made should you wish to submit weapons like Liz and Patty, or Pot of Thunder and Pot of Fire. Then that will counted as one weapon set.) As for the Elder Scroll characters, only one is allowed.

The Soul Eater Wizards (this faction is particular to Xeal Dragomir, (will be revealed in the future)) are essentially male version of Witches. Their caliber is considerably higher and their animal theme is more mythological. They are also nearly extinct after a 800-year-ago purge and I will provide the form for them.

Partners and love interests (if any) will be matched up by **my dog** **Lucifer**, and there will be some canon/OC romance. Romance will not be a major element in this story, although it will appear as much as I can make it while still upholding an acceptable plotline.

The number of people I am looking for is innumerable. I need some for the side of Order and some for the side of Chaos. Do not be sad when I have to kill off some of your OCs for the plot( I have killed off Lucifer before so yes, I will do it again.)

Weapon's may be partnered with a Meister, autonomous weapons should remain limited.

You will have fun while doing this. Or you will pay the price. WITH YOUR SOUL! Just stay there in front of the screen and let me take out Azura's Star...(*smiles...)

Now that that's done and over with, here are the forms. One for Meisters and Weapons, one for Witches, one for Kishins, one for Wizards, one for Elder Scrolls, one for Concepts(Yes they are allowed but only a few).

**Weapon/Meister OC Form**

Name: This includes their full name and title (i.e. the Demon Scythe Soul, or the Assassin Black*Star)

Appearance: What they look like and what they normally wear (by normally wear, I mean what they can usually be found in, like Maka always wears a plaid skirt, blouse, ect.)

Weapon or Element or Meister Strengths: Also include what kind of Weapon if they're a Weapon, if they want a specific type of Weapon if they're a Meister, and other battle related stuff, such as strengths and weaknesses. If you're submitting a Weapon, be creative here people, I can't have three scythes! No more than one person can be a specific type of Weapon, and don't be picky (i.e. if one person's a halberd, you can't be an ax). As for the elements, provide creative ways on how you shape your element and if you want add a restrictive device like Cyril's headphones.

Personality: This one, I think, is pretty self explanatory.

History: What they lived like, where they're from, what they did, where they went to school, everything. If you demand a demonstration, then you seriously were skipping my bios.

Family (optional): Only immediate family is needed, unless they were super close (i.e. a grandmother they always talked to, or a cousin who doubles as a best friend), or you feel that it's necessary.

Other: Birthday, habits, anything you feel I missed.

**Witch/ Wizard OC Form:**

Name: Try and make it have to do with their animal, like Medusa and snakes.

Status in Witch society: Whether they are particularly respected or downright outcasts.

Animal: You cannot use any of the canon animals already in use (meaning frog, snake, spider, scorpion, mouse).

Spells: What they are, what they do, everything.

Personality: This one, I think, is pretty self explanatory.

History: What they lived like, where they're from, what they did, where they went to school, everything. If you demand a demonstration, then you seriously were skipping my bios.

Appearance: Don't forget to include both her regular appearance and animal one (unless she cannot use transformation magic). Also remember her (usual) clothes!

Power Level: (*(easy)-*****(incredible))

**Kishin OC Form**

Name: Try and use the name of a well known killer or villainous person, ie Adolf Hitler or Mr. Hyde. You don't have to though.

Level of Power: (*(easy)-*****(incredible))

Madness:The type of madness they possess.

Side: Not definitely but their main preference.

Personality: This one, I think, is pretty self explanatory. And is also most important! Do try to connect it to the ideals of the side they choose.

History: What they lived like, where they're from, what they did, where they went to school, everything. If you demand a demonstration, then you seriously were skipping my bios.

Appearance: Remember to be creative!

Other: Anything else?

**Concept OC Forms**

Name: Concept name. I do not need a real name but names like Age, Space, Tissue Box...that sort of thing.

Personality: Connect to the concept but do not fully restrict yourself. Try to make these bad boys seem lazy and also not very concerned with the happenings of the story. However include the reason why they would show themselves.

Side: Optional but can be interesting.

Appearance: Referring to their 3rd dimensional shadow or PHYSICAL FORM. Can be human or animal. Anything goes. These are super beings. Symmetry isn't something they are OCD about!

Other: Anything else?

**ELDER SCROLLS OC FORM: (Applause to all who contribute this)**

Name:

Species: If you played, you should know. If also werewolf or vampire, include in as well.

History: No need too much detail but add in if you want to. The more detail, the higher chance of being included. Furthermore, add the reason why they are able to escape the Nirn destruction. If you are also knowledgeable in the other four Elder Scroll games, you can include any elements from them as well as a reason, such as Sheogorath's dimension.

Personality: Remember that Nirn is full of conflict and sinful virtue, as described by Alduin himself. Flaws are much more rampant in this area, so I will especially not like Mary Sues from here. The best type of personality is where a virtue turns into a sin, hence backing Gospel's saying that that is the weakness of the people of Nirn. However do not go overboard. (Which is why I added Richard Nixons on the no-tolerance list.) They are also shocked by the coming to Earth so include their opinion of it as well.

Appearance: Same as Earth but not as pretty and anime-like. Include battle scars, old wounds, dirt, arrow to the knees etc. Also have clothes they usually wear. (Argonians and Khajit will have a problem here. They will obviously stand out on Earth so you must include their real appearance and (if they use one) their fake appearance.)

Weapons: Can have enchantments. Do not limit to Nirn weaponary. If you can, show any weapons they have adapted from Earth and be descriptive. **(A fine example from Despicable: A 2.5 foot long sword, with no actual guard and a blue leather hilt. This blade is meant for swift strikes and accurate stabs, so Kenji does not often rely on power when using it. However this blade acts as a key to a pocket dimension the Daedra created for him to hold the weapons and armor they crafted for him.)**

Armor: Optional but it can include any set of armor from the games. However, also include a way they keep or hide them (whether by cover-up, stashing away in a drop or fitting together with clothes).

Physical Abilities:

Magic: If they use it. Power based on ranking from 1 to 10 and show place of expertise (conjuration, destruction, illusion, alteration). Also instead of Magicka, base their supply of magic on their body and stamina.

_**Author Notes:**_

_**If you have read through all that and you are willing to submit, then I salute you. Thanks for reading and please review/ submit. I am looking forward to what you readers have in mind.**_

_**Toodalooooo!**_


	85. Odahving Chapter 33

Maka Albarn wanted to jump out of bed, dash straight to Alduin and ask him why. No, demand from him why.

However, she can't. For two reasons.

One of them made themselves strikingly clear to her, as persistent waves of paralyzing pain pierced their way through her lower body, forbidding her from even wiggling her toes, let alone her entire leg. And sheer force of will was no longer sufficient; every inch of fiber within her muscles defied her to no end. "C'MON! MOVE!" So she lay in that starch white medical bed, her cries bursting between her angrily gritted teeth, his fists endlessly beating her legs. Eyebrows knitted in frustration, the auburn-haired girl raised her fists one more time, bringing them back down on her rebellious thighs. Another jolt of bone-jittering pain was her reward.

When it became depressingly clear that she would not be able to move no matter what she did, Maka ceased her hopeless self-assault, leaving her clenched fists to rest on the blushing skin of her knees. She remained there, silent and still, unmoving for a long time before her eyes finally noticed her unattended nails biting deep into her palms. "Ow..." She tried to giggle at her folly when she slowly removed those keratinous plates, Though, when her emerald pupils gazed upon the deep crescent impressions left in her pale skin, her pretense of giggles lasted no longer than a few seconds. Instead, she found herself staring even more down, straight down at the cyan cotton of her patient clothes, which had replaced her usual battle uniform. Little damp splash marks had already appeared on that cotton, her tears being allowed to flow and fall free.

In her mind, all of her thoughts were in mess, like New York traffic left stripped of their governing traffic lights. One might expect her to be completely clueless, overwhelmed, unable to know which thought to focus on, incapable of formulating a defining question. Yet, the nature of the thoughts themselves helped her achieve that task. Her thoughts: Alduin is not a human being. Alduin is not from Earth. Alduin is not who he says he is. Alduin is not from the future. Alduin is not telling the truth. Alduin is not...Her mind is just buzzing with what Alduin was not and so, a question became incredibly obvious to the bookworm.

Who is Alduin?

That was the second reason.

Indeed who is this individual named Alduin? This teenage male, of average height, with onyxes for eyes, with midnight hair in a mess, and his body of lean muscularity. One glance and you see a typical black-loving boy, his black-themed clothes just serving as a warning to leave him alone. Two glances and you would notice this transparent air of regality around him, dense enough that you might just reach out and touch it as if it were glass. Three glances and he would note that you were staring at him and his pupils, dark as ever, would then stare back at yours, challenging you, mocking you, questioning you.

Yet, when you and he lock eyes, you could see that his were the stuff of contradictions. One moment, they would be singing in youth; the other, they would be grumbling in ancient wisdom. Before, they would note you as much as they note the furniture beside him; after, they would sparkle at your appearance, as if you were something he wanted to hug, and never let go for forever and ever.

However, despite such contradictions, one thing would remain the same within those black stones of life.

It was their feelings. Sad, angry, exhausted, those eyes were reaching out to you, their invisible hands targeting different areas. One of them wanted your neck, as if brutally wring it and liberate your head from your body. Another approached your armpit, only to slide under it and wrap itself around your back, in a tight powerful hug. The other went for the ground just ahead of your feet, allowing its extended fingers to brush against your toes, while its arm would lie on the cold lifeless soil and wait, to rot away in the passing of time.

Alduin wanted to kill. Alduin wanted to love. Alduin wanted to die.

What..._thing_ would want to kill, love and die, all at the same time?

That left Maka greatly stumped. For an instant, she wanted to grab a book and find out, but the following memory of Alduin not being from Earth stopped her short of jumping out of the medical bed. And so, she laid there once again, her back up against the bar stock poles that formed the headboard. Her mind continued to flip the question and clues over and over again but she was nowhere closer to the answer she wanted. She could have continued to remain like that for days on ends, if a polite voice with a slight German accent interrupted her thoughts.

"Ms. Albarn?"

"Huh?" A sudden wave of comfort ran over the girl, as if her ears were embracing the sound of another's voice. And so, as she looked up to spot the inquiring Friedrich Schmidt, the traffic lights within her mind activated and her thoughts were once again back in her control. It made her feel loads better, and for a second there, she could visualize herself free and easy, a burdening mountain removed from her aching back. Sensations like those never lasted long however and so before she could even capture a shred of it for memory, the question came back down, crushing the feeling under its merciless feet.

Yep, she was not in the best of moods, but the lack of that ever-noisy traffic in her head comforted her just enough to prevent her from venting her frustration at the elephant-sized teenager, his bulky stature little over 2 meters tall. As she looked towards his gentle face crowned by his neatly trimmed chestnut hair, she gave to him a grateful nod and an accompanying "What is it, Friedrich?"

At her reply, the beefy boy scratched the back of his head, his looking-away eyes revealing his discomfort with the use of his full name. "You can call me Fritz, Ms. Albarn. I...just woken up from-"

By the time Fritz had said 'woken', Maka already knew what he was going to say and so she interrupted, "Some sort of unusual slumber?"

"Yes. I was initially sitting beside Toya's bed when some sort of force seemed to force me to feel sleepy. How did you-?"

"Lucky guess..." Maka quickly brushed it off, not feeling any desire to tell the totally clueless Fritz about Alduin. Right now, in this situation, you might say that she does not even know how to describe that lying..._bastard._ As her mind finally found a word to describe the teenager, Maka could feel herself choking at it, reluctant to use such a term. Damn, Alduin must have really got to her that badly.

Giving a sigh of mild 'annoyance', Maka absentmindedly played with the ends of her ponytails, an act that she had abandoned since that..._divorce_.

"Are you okay, Ms. Albarn?" Observant as ever, Fritz's asking voice was slow-paced with concern.

It was also...shaking, as if he had been subjected to very_ cold_ conditions.

Now that she thought anout it, Maka could feel that the medical room's air-con had been set to too low a temperature, for the frostiness in the air was already stinging against her pale skin. Her lower body now clinging ever more tightly to the warm snow-white blanket, Maka frowned at the environmental anomaly. "I'm...okay, Fritz. But don't you think that the air-conditioner is too cold?" And for some reason, Maka already got a hunch that it was not the machine at fault.

"I've already checked, Ms. Albarn. It's not the air-com that's responsible. It's...uhm..." As if he was trying to find the right words to use, Fritz's voice trailed off, much to Maka's chagrin. She was not exactly tolerant of such delays and so, her hand sneakily slipped underneath her fluffy white pillow. "Maka..."

"CHOP!" BANG!

And before Fritz could react, he already had a book-shaped indent slapped mercilessly into his head and all around his eyes he was being given a crash-test course on astronomy. The 'murder' weapon, an Oxford dictionary at least a thousand pages long, remained held firmly by the glaring Maka, an evil look on her face. "It's what? Spit it out!" At the sight of the groaning Fritz, one side of Maka felt sorry for him and wanted to apologize for her sudden outburst; the other bluntly wished that he would quit _wasting_ time.

Both were not ready for the answer.

"We're...The entire city is...actually in the Himalayas."

Boom. Just like that, the answer came charging in through her mind's door and Maka was ill-prepared. For a while, she stared blankly back at him, the words taking an excruciatingly long time to sink in. When she finally spoke again, her voice was that of disbelief, with a self-deceiving giggle within. "You're kidding? Stop pulling my leg, Fritz. You are kidding, right?" Hearing this, Fritz resignedly pulled out his Android, obviously intending to use the phone's built-in GPS to prove the girl wrong.

But Maka did not need to hear Fritz's confirmation; she got front row seats to see the view for herself. Luckily or unluckily for the girl, her medical bed was placed furthest from the door at one end of the room and thus...

closest to the triple-panel window on the other end of it.

She had not noticed it before for she was too caught up in her own thoughts. It was all thanks to a sudden burst of wind that came roaring between the open glass panes, lifting the white laced curtains up into the air. And when Maka's eyes caught sight of the expanse of forest around the city and the towering mountains behind the expanse, she needed no more convincing. Noticing her hanging jaw and her dinner-plate-wide eyes, Fritz knew that his evidence had been rendered unnecessary and he stuffed his phone back into pockets.

"How?" Maka immediately thought of Alduin but even someone like him would not be able to pull off such a massive transportation half-way around the world in what seemed like an hour. And in such a remote location too.

"I don't know, Ms. Albarn."

_"Shitte imasu."_

"Huh?" Maka and Fritz gasped in unison at the intrusive unknown voice, both turning to see an almost-silhouette-like figure standing at the edge of the medical room door. "Who are-?" Maka was about to ask before the figure simply flashed what appeared to be a familiar smile under his dark hood, before turning to the door and proceeding to stroll out. "Hey! Wait a sec'!" As Maka called out to the figure, Fritz shot up in an attempt to pursue the stranger. However, when he managed to charge out of the room into the DWMA hallway, a shocking sight met him.

The walkway was empty.

Fritz could hear the excited chatter of the waking staff and students reverberating throughout the echoing hallway but as he looked left and right, the only people he could spot were the far-off shapes of awakened students rushing down through the stairs, no doubt wanting to go out and wonder what happened to the usual expansive Nevada desert that had been DWMA's home for as long as Death has been principal. Yet there was still no sight of the tall black-cloaked figure; it was as if he had disintegrated into nothing more than thin air. Thin and _cold_ air; Fritz was reminded of this when the chill of the mountain wind penetrated his skin like icy blades, his jaw clenching in response.

"Who was...that?" Fritz questioned between his chattering teeth as another gust of wind forced the Weapon to retreat back into the medical room. When the awaiting Maka shot him a questioning look, the boy scratched the back of his head, looking away in embarrassment. "He got away..." Maka gave a heavy sigh when she heard his negative report, for they had missed such a crucial opportunity to get some answers.

If she had heard correctly, that figure said _shitte imasu_, which meant "I know" in Japanese. That figure definitely knew the reasons behind the recent happenings, whether he spoke Japanese or not. And that smile...Maka obviously did not recognize the figure's voice, but the small grin in the shadow of his hood seems to have sparked a sense of familiarity within her. Not that it helped her deal with the ever growing number of mysteries.

The origin and purpose of Alduin, the method at which Death City had teleported, the real meaning of those Sins and Virtues, the origin of Odahving, the mysterious figure and his smile. She could not make heads or tails of these anomalies. Is Alduin even his real name? Do the entities Chaos and Order even exist? Or were they just part of an elaborate ploy? Within seconds, Maka found her mind turning into a factory of questions, piling its unanswered products into piles of 'trash'.

Everything is now so _strange_.

"Maka..." "Huh?" Maka gasped when an instantly recognizable voice filled her eardrums, washing away the mountains of questions that had almost left her "brain-dead". She turned to gaze at the medical bed next to hers, hot tears of joy welling up to welcome its awakening occupent.

"Guess we kind of failed really badly to make it 'cool'..." Soul Eater shone a toothy grin as he looked up towards the equally smiling girl. When he saw a dazzling tear drop roll down her cheek, his cheeky grin was replaced with a frown of concern. "You alright?"

"Mmm.." Maka assured him with a nod, her hands bringing up to wipe off the tears. "How about you?"

"Never been worse." Soul half-jokingly grunted as he struggled to push himself up from the bed. "Hey, Fritz." He waved a 'Hi' to the Unusual, who responded back with a typical "It's good to see you, Mr. Evans." At first, Soul's face was full of relief and cheeriness but by the time he gazed at all of the patients' in the medical room, his face dropped to one of sore disappointment. "Seems like we weren't really that good against that mad bastard Odahving."

His disappointment was allayed when Maka gently reached and clasped her assuring hand around his. "Don't worry, Soul. We did what we were supposed to do; it was just that our opponent was beyond our means."

Smile returning back to his face, Soul nodded. "Thanks, Ms. Flat Chest."

Bang!

Soul Eater grinned when a more playful, much softer Maka Chop landed on his head. It still had its impact but it was much better than Maka's concussion-causing versions. As the blushing girl seemed trouble deciding from an annoyed pout to an amused smile, Soul gave her another proud grin, which BANG! earned him a much more ferocious Maka Chop. "You called me a flat-chest and still dare to SMILE!"

Moaning from the fierce attack, Soul rubbed the signature book-shaped indent in his head, which instigated a certain watching Unusual to giggle behind his stifling hands. "Ow...That's gonna leave a bad mark..." he mused, ignoring the now obviously offended Maka brandishing her dictionary menacingly. That was when he noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Alduin? Still in a bloody coma?" And Soul's eyes widened when he noticed his mention of Alduin seeming to have a big effect on the girl, whose initial pout now transformed into a simply sad and uncomfortable face, her green eyes even avoiding Soul's red ones. He was beginning to worry. "What? Did that time-traveler did something to you? Or is he...dead?" Soul pursued into the matter, placing his arms on Maka's shoulders and shaking her to get her attention.

At first, Fritz, worried by the scene before him, almost begun to inform Soul on what was really happening. However, Maka suddenly gestured to him to let her do it and as Fritz backed down, she lifted her head to meet eye-to-eye with Soul. Her sudden motion made Soul realize that something was wrong. Very wrong.

"What's bugging you, Maka? What happened to Alduin?"

After taking a nervous swallow, Maka finally responded with a stammering voice.

"Alduin...he's...he's...not who he claims to be."

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	86. Odahving Chapter 34

**A day later...**

"Did you hear?"

"Yes, I did. The death tally just came in. Shocked?"

"Yeah, I am. I mean, 473 people dead? Add in the rampage done by that dragon-looking thing and you have a total death tally of 658. It's just...overwhelming..."

"Luckily that Kishin had decided to take out entire families. Imagine, if he did not, the number of orphans, widows and mourners we will have to deal with. Our work load would have increased by at least 20 fold."

"Seriously? Out of all the pity, shock and anger you can feel, you are thinking about work load? I...I can't believe that you can be so dismissive."

"That's what you get when you are 20 years into the job. As Death's watchmen, you must distance yourself from being affected by death."

"That's just being plain cruel and ignorant."

"Who cares, as long as the dough continues to come in! This is the most stable job in the world! Not even the recession those incorrigible pigs from the finance district screwed up with affected my salary by a cent! Instead, because of the surge of money-mad and starving Kishin Eggs, we got a pay raise! I bought myself THREE nice juicy turkeys for Thanksgiving with that amazing year-end bonus. Best _family_ dinner I ever had...HAHAHA...haha...ha..."

"Family dinner? You did not sound much like a family man just no- Hey. What's wrong? Is that...tears in your eyes?"

"..."

"Wait a second. Don't tell me...your family...they were..."

"I...received...word just an hour ago...They had just been labeled KIA..."

"Man...I'm...I'm sorry for your loss...I didn't think that you were trying to-"

"Cheer myself up? Yeah...looks like it didn't really work."

"How many?"

"Four. A wife and three children, two girls and one boy. Diana, Juliann and John...Haha...John was always the joker, playing tricks and pranks on me... Just two days ago, I ordered a special cake for his birthday, two weeks from now. Wanted to return the favour with a jack-in-a-cake...I would love to see the look on his face...But now...I..."

"It's okay...you don't need to relive your memories..."

"Don't go all empathetic on me. A little idealistic kid like you, all confident with himself after only a year in the job, would never understand how much I have lost in my years as a watchman, let alone right now! I hope that THIS IDIOTIC GOD we are taking care of would give us some freaking answers soon, or else I would beat the CRAP out of him!...Hah...hah...hah...hah..."

"Calm down, Corporal. We cannot try anything akin to torture. Only interrogation. I'm sure as an experienced watchmen, you know that yourself."

"Gah. SIR!"

The two guards, their gray-black long-sleeved uniforms covered under a thick winter parka, gasped and saluted simultaneously towards the approaching well-built form of the Internal Affairs Investigator Joe Buttaki, his squinted, almost slit-like eyes regarding the two watchmen with equal respect. Though his facial features were almost imperceptible by the shadow cast by the candle lights on the dungeon walls, he had a small frown, indicating his displeasure with the halted conversation. The tightness of the grip his gloved hand had on his coffee cup served to assert that fact.

"Might I remind you, that this God surrendered himself to us peacefully. I am sure he deserves at least some dignity and respect. And until Death recovers from his injuries, we must approach him with caution. Brute force will not get us anywhere. Understand?"

The previously belligerent sergeant, his bloodshot eyes visible under his black army cap, tried to protest, "But sir..."

"Am I understood, sergeant?"

"...Yes...sir..." Deciding against a fight with his superior, the sorrowful-looking man released his clenching fists, bowing his head in an apology. JB, his steely demeanor softening, smiled sadly in empathy for the man's loss.

"Good...It's nearly noon now. Here's my suggestion: Take a break, have lunch and cry out your tears. I want you two back with a full lunch pack for our guest by 1230 hours. Is that clear?"

"Sir yes sir!"

After he nodded back at the smart salute the watchmen gave him, Joe watched on as they ran up the corridor he had come in from earlier, disappearing at the sharp corner. Making sure that the sound of their footsteps had all but vanished, the blonde turned towards where they were guarding: an arch to a flight of shadow-mobbed stairs, leading down straight into abyssal darkness. The only shred of visible light was from a lantern at the end, which, from his position at the top, its tiny orange glow seemed no bigger than a candle flame.

Joe remained silent, his eyebrows knitting together while he tried to stare deeper into the darkness. However, he did not need to, for he, as well as all of the guards, already knew too well who was down there in the DWMA's deepest dungeon. As he continued to look down, the sprouts of hair at the back of his neck stiffened straight up, tingling at their nerve endings. Truth to be told, one part of Joe _desperately_ wanted to run after the two guards and join them for lunch. Anything to get away from this smothering pressure in the dungeon air.

But when he hurriedly took his eyes off the perpetual smog, he glanced down at the cup of coffee he held firmly to, the smiling face of Uncle Bob pasted on the ceramic side, perhaps even encouraging him with that cordial grin. As he watched the warm rich coffee stir within the cup, a stray waft of air was sucked in by his nose and his heart promptly skipped the beat at the delectable smell of Uncle Bob's coffee. It sparked something within him and his own long-standing catchphrase echoed in his head: _Uncle Bob's Rumba Coffee! So delicious it'll make you dance! C'mon everybody, do the Rumba! Shake your hips and do the Uncle Bob's Coffee Rumba with me!_

Of course, something as 'trivial' as coffee and dancing could not possibly hold a finger to the significant amount of power JB was surrounded by now. Even so, though it failed to make him want to dance, Joe was released from the trance the intoxicating aura of power had placed him in. "Thank you, Uncle Bob..." he muttered a grateful thanks to the still smiling sticker face, as if he was thanking his life-saving superhero. Hell, he even could feel emotional tears in his narrow eyes.

Okay, away with the emotional exaggeration.

Taking a nervous gulp, Joe allowed his eyes to look back down into the consuming bog of darkness, making sure to keep his vision focused on that little lamp light in the epicenter. It worked, albeit barely. Snagging onto this chance, Joe yelled down the stairs at the top of his voice.

"I know that you heard that entire conversation just now!"

No answer. Whoever was down there decided to remain quiet. That was good, Joe silently thought, It is all good.

"I don't know what BS place you came from or even what sort of BS you were supposed to be! Do you know how much anger and frustration being in the dark gives me? Loads! Mountains! So much that I can probably never buy enough coffee to drown it all out! Understand my position! I can give you dignity and respect but at the same time I must give some freaking answers to the fine men, women and children who have lost everything, because of YOU!"

Silence continued, with only Joe's voice echoing down the stair walls. Joe continued on.

"So if you are really a god, then give your _almighty _answer. Who should have my respect and who should have my frustration? You or those outside crying their hearts out? It has been a day since you surrendered and yet you still remain silent. Isn't that almost equivalent to not surrendering at all? Isn't that equal to wasting our fucking time? ISN'T THAT IDENTICAL TO SENTENCING ALL THOSE DEPRESSED SOULS OUT THERE TO A LIFE OF ENDLESS QUESTIONS AND NO ANSWERS?"

As the echoes of his raised voices finally died down and his running breath managed to slow its pace, Joe felt his contorted innards finally release its painful twist, all his pent-up anger and resentment released at their rightful target at last. He will not be getting an answer now, that much he can guess. Whether he can get it later...

"I will be back. With lunch. By then, I hope you will truly cooperate with us. If not, it will not matter. Cause I will get the answers out of you one way or another_! Even if I had to beat it off your tongue_!"

Joe understood that he did not need to stay there any longer. He had already said his piece. Quickly turning away from the darkness below, JB felt a sense of much-needed relief fill his jittery bones as he begun to walk back out of this deepest of dungeons. Around him, the shadows cast by the candle lights reached out towards him, the tendrils almost _clawing_ at the get-away of their quarry.

While the muscularly built man strolled back into the light, a lone person remained in the dark room at the end of the shadow-mobbed stairs.

His eyes matching the midnight sky, the boy continued to stare on at the one small lantern that composed of the entirety of his light source. It calmed him, the staring, ridding the shivers that the cold chilly bleak imposed upon him. Yet, for a brief moment, the boy stole a look up, just enough to spy the shadowy silhouette of the man up there, his back turned as he plodded away. His heavy footsteps *plod* *plod* *plod* cut through the almost opaque mustiness of the dungeon air, only for each cut to get smaller and smaller as the sound drew further and further away. Biting his lower lip, the prisoner felt a sensational desire to follow the waning footsteps, to crawl out of the hazardous abyss.

He tried to rise.

Chink chink chink...A cold metallic sound rattled about, reminding Alduin about why he was just having wishful thinking. His ears perked up at the familiar ring. Why shouldn't they? He heard this particular sound before, back when he had bumped into his ancient man, his Grand-Father Time. The slightly tanned hands pushing against the mahogany dinner table. The stooping stature of the Concept rising up from his exquisite dinner seat.

And then the thousand metallic chains cruelly wrapped around his lower body, giving a signature *chink* as they rubbed against one another.

That's right. Alduin was in that almost exact predicament. Binding all over his body, a hundred torus-linked chains, under the veil of the surrounding darkness, seemed to extend out of nothing more but shadows, binding themselves all over his upper body. Some of these metallic wardens favored his chest, pulling it from all directions and forcing him to remain kneeling. Particularly cruel ones aimed for his arms, pulling the two limbs apart such that Alduin was making a perpetual T-shape with his body. For a normal human being, being in such a position was hell.

For Alduin, it was merely annoying bird shit. "I guess having 200 mind-breaking years in the void of Time has its...benefits..." Alduin tried to crack himself a joke.

But he didn't really want to laugh.

Not with JB's words swimming in his head.

And so the god returned silent once again and his eyes, midnight as always, went back to torture themselves on the lantern flame.

**Somewhere in Death City...**

A woman stood frozen in her living room. She did not dare to move. The carpet, a blanket of pure white just a few steps away, was just too precious to soil with her uncleanliness. She had always made sure she was wearing specially sanitized, whitened slippers before she would walk on it. But as the puddle of red begun to soak into the cotton, that option was promptly impossible.

"Go away..." The woman murmured under her panting breath, her eyes widening at one of the puddle's frontiers edging closer towards the woolen carpet, shock and panic welling up inside her. She never knew why she loved that carpet. Ever since she woke up from that unusual slumber, she just did. At first, she had imagined a voice just beside her ear, whispering to her little poems of love, stories of her and the carpet, like the arrows of a Cupid. But those were just imaginations. Hallucinations from a head-aching nap. Yes...yes...just hallucinations. She had spent half the day convincing herself of that.

Yes, her love was real, her own. No one is persuading her to love it, right? She just really loved the carpet. As much as her husband.

Or probably more.

She did not really want to let her eyes off the advancing ruby front threatening her beloved but curiosity compelled her to remind herself of her handiwork. For a moment, she thought she was gazing upon someone she should be familiar but she remembered immediately that whoever was lying in the pool of blood was just a simple stranger. He was lying just a meter away, thankfully away from her carpet. The man, medium-sized and on the plump side, laid face-first in the pool, his pale lifeless face a contortion of fright, shock and horror, held together by rigor mortis. Sporting straight out of his back was a wooden handle, which the woman recognized as one of her kitchen knives.

It was easy, killing the stranger. Oh yes, it was. All she needed to do was to aim for that spot between his cervical vertebrate and thoracic vertebrate of his spinal column. That was it, sweet and simple. Even though she could not even comprehend what those words mean.

Whatever she did, it worked. She taught that arrogant son of a bitch a good lesson. That bastard had the _mind _to trespass straight into her home, decked out as if he had been on a jog, remove his shoes and step on her beloved husband with his wet dirty socks! It was a huge unforgivable insult to her husband, her beloved, her dear – her CARPET!

Yes, she remembers now. The shock had fogged her memories before but yes, the carpet, in all his white purity and softness, was her husband. Whoever this idiot lying dead in front of her was, she did not need to give a bit of a damn.

Of course, she needed to give a damn about his blood reaching out toward her carpet.

Her hair, messy and unkempt, brushed against her shoulders while she slowly bent down towards her real husband, her hands smoothing over each other to clean themselves of any filth or impurities that could harm her honey. When her wrinkled boney fingers manage to grip onto soft fabric, she yelped in glee and gave an invigorated pull and with a loud whoop, her beloved rolled up perfectly into her arms, safely away from the ruby red tides. A few shelves, tables and chairs might have been overturned by that move but she barely gave a thought about that mound of broken mishmash. All that mattered to her was that her husband was safe with her, touching against her, thanking her,_ crushing_ her.

Under the carpet's massive weight, the woman could feel her legs begun to wobble, trembling against the pull gravity had on her husband. Her enriching sensation of strength that had allowed her to upturn the furniture was all but gone. With her last bits of ebbing strength, the dedicated wife whispered loving apologies to her beloved carpet, drew in her breath and threw him far away from the blood pool, into safety. At the same time, a loud _snap_ cut through the cold mountain air, followed by a blood-curdling cry.

The reactive force from throwing the carpet had broken right through her leg bones, the exact fracture inches up from her ankles, and waves of pain ran up her leg and into her screaming head, so intolerable that even the satisfaction of saving her husband was overwhelmed. Her entire footing literally obliterated, the women fell down, spurting out crimson droplets as she smashed into the blood puddle with her detached feet still standing and her legs resultantly twisted in a gruesome fashion.

As she waddled within the blood, she seemed to have suddenly worn red-tinted glasses, her vision now seeing everything in red. She did not know how long she had screaming but it had to be bloody long, for when her voice finally went hoarse, her tortured ears had been ringing so much that she could feel a damp warm liquid leak out of them. More blood, with white pus mixed in.

In the middle of her pain-frenzied panic, the woman spotted her carpet, still as pure white as snow, lying in the distance. What would used to be an easy walk had now looked like something akin to a grueling marathon but the woman was desperate. Desperate for some love, comfort and assurance. "P...Please..." She reached out towards her white beloved with a shivering hand, hoping for a response. But a carpet was an inanimate object, lifeless, loveless, and so her 'husband' stayed far away from her begging reach, cruelly watching on as the woman, eternally consumed by her madness, died with the deepest of regrets.

And it was the not the only one watching. One of two, actually.

Heavy boots plodded against the wooden steps of the staircase, their metallic intricacies almost demonic in look. Their owner's face was hidden under an equally demonic full helmet, but no one could miss the ember eyes glowing within the shadows. His bronze hair, neatly combed and touching his shoulder blades, shone in the light, as if it was made by the very metal. His bulky black armor had the same design as his boots and helmet, with pauldrons sporting multiple intimidating spikes and red lines across its broad chest-plate. Signs of personal customization of the Daedric armor could be seen, with the most prominent being a red scarf wound around the neck area and crimson cloth covering the upper arm regions of the armor, both flying in the wind rushing in through the house's open windows.

His mouth, covered behind the helmet's mouth-piece, barely opened to give out a cold, but dignified voice. "I am sorry, woman and man whose names I do not know..." The armored warrior gave a light bow down towards the dead couple, his gauntleted hand reaching out to pull out the knife embedded into the dead man's back. "If I was not on an urgent mission, I would have lent you assistance. But now..." Kneeling onto one knee, the man used his two fingers to close the woman's lifeless eyes.

"Requiescat in pace...," he whispered, bowing once more to the deceased as their light blue souls slipped out of their bodies. Reaching inside a modern satchel slung diagonally across his armor, the stranger pulled out two purple-black gems, their surface inky under the light. The moment the gems were revealed, the blue human souls flickered and glowed a bit brighter once, before being sucked in by a vacuum-like force the gems exerted on them. All became quiet once again as the man lifted his helmet just enough such that his mouth could give a gracious peck to each of the now shimmering gems. "May the Daedric Prince Molag Bal guide you to salvation..."

Now only one more thing was left to be done, as his amber eyes gazed upon the pool of blood with curiosity.

Or hunger.

"I could use a drink of Bloody Mary..."

**So our first Skyrim OC has appeared. I won't be giving his name just yet but I am sure you can figure out using the OC Situation report and how he behaves. I am sorry for the extremely long delay for this chapter but something came up in my life so I needed to take some time off. However, I will continue to update and hope that you guys will continue reading this series. I am also going to end the Odahving book pretty soon and I might put up a poll for the next book's name. So look out for it and thanks in advance for your reviews and likes. **


	87. Odahving Chapter 35

"That Alduin...Who does he think he is?..."

His shark-like teeth grinding against each other, Soul Eater Evans the Scythe Weapon was not in a good mood. He had been discharged just a few hours before, with Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki. In fact, all of them were together right now, sitting at the benches right beside the basketball court that they usually played at during their free time. Normally, the familiar sight of the concrete walls lively with a plethora of graffiti and the one-sided basketball court would bring back fond memories for the white-haired boy, but with him thinking up ways to torture a certain god, such happy thoughts had no place but the deep forgotten recesses of his mind. However, Soul considered whether Alduin had already gotten his divine just deserts when he was arrested. Looks like karma can be a real bitch.

The gang had learnt about Alduin's arrest just an hour ago, how he had been with that girl Cyril Yiuta and two strange climbers, how he peacefully surrendered without a fight. And who he really was. "No doubt he's expecting us to forgive him and beg him for forgiveness ourselves..." Soul spat as he remembered how awe-inspired JB sounded when he informed the gang about the matter. Even a god must be liable for his own actions. No matter the fact that he had saved them and Death City itself from the wrathful Odahving.

That was the part that Soul hated the most. Despite his pent-up hatred and despise towards Alduin, somewhere and something within him kept on reminding him of Alduin's attempt for redemption. The partial dilemma was annoying the Weapon to a severe degree; not being able to remain nonchalant and objective about a person just does not...fit him.

Sitting beside him, Maka noticed the frustration of her partner with doleful eyes, the way his shoulders were firmly tensed up, his pale hands threatening to crush the bench's edge, his thin eyebrows knitting together as if in a brow-to-brow push-of-war. But she had already decided against calming him down; she reaffirmed that as her hand briefly brushed onto the thick spine of the 600-page novel. It was the 7th time she done that particular movement since the news. It signified that she wanted to Maka Chop someone really badly, more specifically, she herself was furious at Alduin. Yet, the murky anger felt uncomfortable within her.

She, too, was stumped on what to really make of Alduin.

For once, Black Star was not worried that he was no longer in the spotlight. Watching the two partners sulk away on the bench opposite his, Black Star was deep in thought himself. He never really knew Alduin that well. Yet the fact that Black Star had been standing beside a real god all this time unnerved the blue-haired ninja. It did not help that he was also wearing a sports singlet with the number 1 and the words "I will surpass God" printed on in bright prominent colors.

"Erm...It's a bit cold here, don't you think?" Seeing the air of frustration and depression around the entire group, Tsubaki hurriedly tried her best to snap them out of it. Thankfully Soul was quick to understand what she was trying to do. And he had to agree; they are confirmed to be in the Himalayas, where the temperature could very well reach below 0, and they are still wearing their summer clothes. So they could either stay here sulking till they freeze or find some god damn protection.

Taking a moment to gather up his mental luggage, Soul attempted to amplify Tsubaki's message. "Tsubaki's right. We are turning into icecubes out here. Any place where we can get some winter clothes?"

Black Star was next to join in, himself pausing to take in a deep sigh. "I guess...the Academy has some."

Last but not least, Maka cringed in a silent split-second of pain, before giving an acknowledging nod. "Black Star is right. The parkas used in winter combat. The DWMA should still have them."

"Right, so I guess we should go ask for some." As this conversation went on, Soul could feel a much-needed smile creep up his face.

"Then maybe we can help distribute them out to the public. Since everyone is so used to the desert." Tsubaki could sense relief swelling up within her.

"Erm, guys...it's almost lunchtime. And my great belly needs some godly nutrition." All sweat dropped at the awkward comment made by the ninja kid, whose arrogance seem to be returning, thankfully deflated by a tiny bit.

"How about this? Lunch at my apartment first, my treat!" "Yeah! That will be great." "YAHOO! Just make sure it's a worthy feast!" "I guess it will be a good idea."

The teenage Meister beamed at the regained confidence of the gang and as they prepared to head out back to the Academy in high spirits, the matter surrounding Alduin's treachery was forgotten.

Just as the four were about to leave their benches and strode off to Maka and Soul's apartment, a dull, almost monotonous voice called out after them, resulting in Maka turning towards it in delight.

"It's too late. Regarding your community project. Joe has already sounded a city-wide distribution of the winter coats. But I guess I can deal with joining you guys for lunch."

"Hope you got some candy with you!"

"Crona! Ragnorok! You guys are alright!" Maka's eyes widened in pleasant surprise at the sight of the nigh-emotionless purple-haired boy appearing, his Death Scythe partner Ragnorok showing a toothy grin while attached to his meister's back. The auburn-haired girl had not seen the Black Blood duo for some time now and as the gang ran up to them, she chided herself for not worrying about their safety in the first place. However, they were obviously fine, with Crona even showing a very small but already generous smile. And that was not the only good news. Crona's shirt, a modern replica of the top-half of his previously-worn black robe, was covered under a thick peach parka. And to prove that good news (luck actually) comes in threes, slung over his shoulders were four identical parkas, parkas which he was more than willing to give it out.

"Guess this can help you deal with the cold better." The boy beamed another rare grin. "Now about that lunch..."

* * *

><p>Back at Maka and Soul's home, everyone was in the living room sitting on the strawberry red coaches that surrounded the sky blue modern-looking coffee table, just in front of the stereo set. Maka, sitting on a chair moved from the kitchen table, could not help but smile when she took in the comfort of her home once again, her painful experience with Odahving still leaving its scars. The strange posters and paintings of art were no longer alien-looking pieces that accompanied with the apartment long before she and Soul got it; they were now distinctive features that sweetly tell her that "yes, you are now definitely home."<p>

Soul seemed to be especially comforted. "It's good to be back!" he gave a half-cheer half-sigh as he proceeded to relax happily into the couch that he shared with Black Star. Tsubaki and Crona sat on the coach opposite of Maka, with the ponytailed ninja woman giving a polite smile as a certain black entity demanded her to pass him the candy, the assortment piled up inside a candy bowl, a shopping byproduct brought back by the thankfully absent Blair, as evidenced the light purple glass lined with cat faces, all of which were in the process of eating fish.

Of course, Maka would not serve lunch with just candy alone and as she scanned the table, she felt a small sense of pride at the food she had managed to cook up within the past hour. Her appetizers presented themselves as being simple enough, pre-prepared French fries together with a dipping of melted cheese. Not very classy but judging from how swiftly Black Star began to devour the comparatively meager plate, they were doing just fine. A large six-person bowl of nice homemade chicken salad formed the semi-side semi-main dish, with the chicken pretty well baked to nice light yellow-brown, surrounded by fresh slices of cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons and lettuce, along with a dashing of nice parmesan cheese and lemon juice. It was obviously the hardest part of the meal to make and Maka noted to herself the joy and relief she felt after finishing this immense dish with the essential assistance of Tsubaki.

However, did she mention that it was only the semi-main? Because there was something else on the table that far outshone anything that Maka could make in her life.

As everyone else except the ever thick-headed Black Star gazed upon the perfect dish set before them, Maka noted to herself that while Alduin might be a masterful chef of literally godly proportions, he did not really have a good judgement of portioning. And so the excessive half of his crabmeat fried rice sat smack-dab in the center, proudly as the king of the lunch palette. It had obviously gone a bit cold staying inside the refrigerator but Maka, previously unsatisfied with her own dish, dared to place it in the microwave, and voila! It had retained its mouth-watering, heart-stopping, simply addictive taste and as this hot delicacy gave off wafts of vapor, her taste buds were almost able to "taste" the very fragrance.

Of course, there was a problem. Alduin made it.

"Maka...that's...Al-" Soul, afraid to break the fantastic progress the group has made, hesitantly protested to this very obvious reminder of Alduin's presence but his voice trailed off when Maka stared his way, her eyes shining as they silently told him, "I know." However, it was already too late. Soul's concerns had been clearly heard by everyone in the room and in an instant of sharp inference the initially coveted dish was soon looked upon with suspicion and shock. Everyone seemed to regard it as some sort of ticking time bomb sinisterly cooked up long ago by that one liar of a god.

Everyone except Crona.

Ignoring the surprised stares around, the purple-haired meister calmly leant forward as he picked up his porcelain rice bowl and using the wooden ladle, filled it up with a few generous scoops, all the while maintaining a calm, almost _forgiving s_mile. Slightly worried that the boy did not get the message, Soul attempted to remind him, "You do know that was made by...You-know-who?"

Crona raised a quizzical eyebrow. "You-know...-who? Since when did Voldemort know how to smell with that nose of his, let alone cook?"

"Uuhhh..." Bang! Everyone dropped face-flat onto the floor in typical anime fashion. Ragnorok, stuck to the back of his meister, could only give himself a resigned face-palm.

"Crona..." Maka, recovering the fastest, stammered as she tried to be more specific, "Are you sure you are okay with eating Alduin's cooking?"

"Why not?" Crona asked back as he ate up his first spoon of rice. Immediately his eyes lit up, as if stars had just been born right inside his irises. Ragnorok, being able to feel what Crona feels, had his eyes...umm...become stars. "This is seriously some good stuff! I could definitely deal with this!"

"Don't you think that we should not really be eating something made by a traitor?"

And there, Soul had just bluntly expressed everyone's concerns to the boy. At first, Crona stopped eating, possibly contemplating what Soul had said. Then, his face now darkened, the boy gently placed the bowl back onto the table and for a moment, everyone could feel how much Crona had matured from his previously clueless and unable-to-deal-with-anything self. So they were all silent, anticipating his reply to Soul's question.

"Traitor?" Everyone gasped as Crona suddenly beamed a wide uncharacteristic smile. "What traitor?"

"Alduin, of course!" Soul yelled indignantly, his teeth gritted at that Crona does not seem to get it.

"Alduin? Ha ha ha...he's just gonna be away for a while. That's all." Crona continued smiling as he went on to dig in, leaving Soul speechless.

"Crona...I don't under-" Maka was about to continue for her partner but a quick raising of Crona's hand stopped her. This time, the boy had lost his smile; his expression was more solemn than angry now. "Alduin has done something that we might never be able to repay him back for. You understand what that is, Maka. You really do. However, your hatred for him lying to him has made you reject that. And it's not only hurting him but it's also hurting you and everyone else, Maka."

"Let it go."

Crona remained steel-like in expression when Maka shot up from her seat, her fists clenched in fury, and all of her pent-up anger came immediately pouring out.

"Hatred? Let it go? Crona, he lied to us! He cheated us! He played us as if we were fools! He spoke in secret languages so that he could leave us out! Why am I not justified to pay him back for doing all those things and worse? Why should I ever forgive him for what he is done? Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, Patty, everybody! Everyone here has been hurt by him! 400 people died out there because of him! If he had told us the truth back then, we would not be in the Himalayas, freezing away, while having an extremely powerful Kishin walking around the globe! He has placed BILLIONS at risk! Kid is now waiting painfully at his father's side! Marie is still mourning the loss of Stein! Hundreds of families are outside now, crying and sobbing away for their lost."

Maka gritted her teeth as she paused, tears welling up in her eyes. Crona knew that the next part really meant to her. "And I have a DAD in intensive care, unconscious. And I may never know when he will WAKE UP again! So don't TELL ME TO 'LET IT GO'! I-"

As everyone else looked on at Maka's outburst in shock, Crona had already rose up and warmly wrapped his arms around the girl who was now subsiding from anger and diving into sadness. "There...there..." He whispered gently, allowing the girl to bury her face into his shoulder and let out her tears.

"I...don't...understand...how can you still...deal with someone...who has done so much...wrong?"

"Maka, the truth is...I can't. I cannot deal with someone who is of pure evil. However, Alduin...he's different. Just like how we kill people to save the world. Just like how we reason that our saving can justify the murders we commit. It is not so hard to apply that to him." It was barely audible muffled against his chance but Crona could hear Maka giving a small gasp and could feel her body tensing up. She might have understood. Crona hoped she understood.

However, Soul was an entirely different story.

"Different?" Soul scowled at Crona's words, "Crona, you bastard, did you not hear what Maka was ranting about? That son of a bitch used us! Don't go telling us that he is different! He's exactly the same - the same as all of those fucking Kishins who used people for power!"

"Do you really think so, Soul? Because I thought I heard a slight falter in your words."

His scowl even deeper than before, Soul cracked his knuckles as he readied to throttle Crona. "Damn you, I'll-"

"SOUL! STOP!"

For a moment, Soul remained stunned when Maka shouted at him, unable to understand why her voice was directed at him and not Crona. As his blood-red eyes met with Maka's bloodshot ones, one part of him wanted to look away and accept defeat, especially because it's Maka he's going to argue; another part cheered him on to stand his ground, to fight for what is right: a just punishment on Alduin. Eventually, his anger got the better of him and so Soul chose the latter. "Maka...can't you see that I am trying to fight for you!"

"I know you are Soul...I appreciate that." The remaining tears streaking down her face rubbed away, Maka begun to have a solemn stare-down with her weapon partner, who gave a unbelieving scoff.

"So since you appreciate, then let me deal with Crona for you. He's just making you even sadder."

"I...I...I can't. Soul, listen...right now we are fragile...we can't afford another fight..."

"Okay, so I don't attack Crona. Then how about we just ignore him and go on to Alduin?"

Maka winced at Soul's sudden harshness, looking down away from him. "Soul..."

In response, Soul's expression softened, albeit by only a small fraction. "Maka, I can't stand around watching you get abused like a little rag doll. So please let me do this. It's for the right reasons."

Suddenly, as if he had been waiting for Soul's last sentence, Crona interjected ahead of Maka. "Many people do the wrong things for the right reasons. Even gods."

Soul immediately snapped back, angered by the fact that his own words had been used against him. "Who says that you could speak?"

"I say so." Soul was caught off guard when Maka raised her head up again, revealing her emerald eyes, calm and determined. With that one movement, she made it plainly obvious to Soul: she had decided, and she was clearly not on his side. Nothing more was needed to be said between them. It would have just make matters worse.

Recovering his initial recoil, Soul sported an almost mocking smile, giving a dry, humourless laugh. "So I see how this is. Ganging up on me. You think that Alduin would be able to do a lot better than me, don't you?"

Blinking blankly at his accusations, Maka hurriedly tried to explain, "Soul...we aren't..."

"Shut up!" The poor girl jumped when the white-haired teenager angrily spat at her. Matters had just gotten worse. "I don't need your dumb excuses. I've been your weapon partner for like what, 4 years and you choose someone you met just days ago over me! How cruel is that?"

"Soul..."

"Don't 'Soul' ME! I already said I don't need your stupid excuses!" His eyes narrowed like those of a fuming bull, Soul had already allowed himself to go dizzy with wrath. It was not like him to blow off his entire 'cool' persona and go into a rage. But when you suspect that four years of your life has been rendered meaningless by nothing more than a simple traitorous stranger, even a pacifist can take so much. "Black Star! You are with me, right?"

"Huh?" The ninja who had been sitting behind Soul watching the entire scene unfold, did not expect his now raging friend to call to him. It unnerved him greatly to see Soul being in such a state. Sure, he had seen Soul angry a few times before but never on this level of rage. "Soul?"

"Answer me! Aren't we buds? You are with me, aren't you? Don't you want to surpass God?"

"Soul..." Finding himself more concerned about his friend than Alduin right now, Black Star cringed and raised his hand in peace as he tried to calm the boy down. "Even though I do want rise someday, I think it is best that I can just have some normal time for today. Soul, seriously, you are being rash. Being rash is my expertise, not yours. You are Soul; you never go off like this."

"So you too, Black Star?" Soul's look of plea instantly deteriorated into hatred, absolutely showing no register of his friend's concern. "After all of our antics and jokes together, you turn your back on me as well!"

Taken aback by the disdain, Black Star jumped out of his couch and shouted back at Soul. "Hey, calm down, man! Seriously I was just giving out my concerns as a friend! I will never turn my back on you!"

"Then stand with me! Help me out! Make that Alduin PAY!"

"I already told you before, Soul! I CAN'T!"

Sensing the tensions rising higher between the two aggressive males, Crona quickly stepped in. "ENOUGH!"

Soul totally ignored him but he could see that he was clearly outnumbered. So with a scowl that sent shivers down the watching Maka's spine, he stomped towards his room. Before he entered through the door, he turned towards everyone and gave them one last retort, his eyes hatefully shooting daggers at them. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" BANG!

As the reverberating sound of the door slamming shut finally faded away, everyone remained silent and after they sat back into the couches, they dug into their lunch with the energy worthy of a sloth. As for their reactions towards the incredible taste of the fried rice...

Well, I guess they have better or worse things on their minds. It was devoured, yes it was. But when its joyous fragrance and wondrous savour has faded away...

All it left behind was a bitter after-taste.

**Tumult's begun. That's all I'm gonna say.**


	88. Odahving Chapter 36

"_There is something I need to show you..."_

Somewhere within the DWMA, there was a room. It was kept in the far side of the DWMA and it required a specific set of turns and bends through the labyrinthine passages before you could chance upon it. There was good reason for such security and isolation. DWMA was an academy, a place for students to learn and to live (partially) normal lives. Sure, these students know how to kill Kishin Eggs with a weapon and are probably fit enough to wipe the floor of the competition if they were to ever send a team to the 2012 London Olympics. However, those were only the EAT students, as in for "Especially Advantaged Talent". The NOT students, or "Normally Overcome Target", were not that exposed to violence and were to remain in a non-combat role, besides the choice few. And so the interrogation room was made to be well hidden within the complex, with those brought in sworn to secrecy about its location.

Not that it did much good against its current occupant. When you are literally made out of sound, finding hidden rooms through echolocation is pretty much a cake walk. So when Cyril found herself sitting inside this room that seemed to be pulled straight out of criminal TV shows, she was not, unlike many people before her, surprised by its existence. Instead, as she sat onto the cold metal of her chair, she spent more time, if not all the time, staring at the intricate bracelet that Alduin had placed in her hands before his...

Cyril closed her eyes as she struggled to find the right word. It was not easy and Alduin's memories were not helping at all.

They were not the entire hoard of memories, seeing as how Cyril could only see as far as a few years before the Oblivion Crisis, minus an unusual load of 200 years' worth of memory just before the rebellion in Skyrim. But seeing how happy and jovial the pre-Oblivion memories were, Cyril knew that Alduin was once in cloud nine, living with his family and playing around with his brother Paarthurnax, who Cyril understood as his partner-in-crime in the Skyrim revolution and now his enemy. She also managed to spot Akatosh once or twice then, an old loving man who despite how little his laughs were, showed his love through the gleam of his eyes. This scene was then followed by a sudden speedy stream of events, some with fire, others with blood and death, many with darkness, and most with all three: the Oblivion.

A crisis, sparked by the ignorant Daedric worshippers of the cult called the Mythic Dawn. The most prominent scene of all, however, appeared right after it was resolved and through Alduin's eyes, Cyril could see Akatosh struggling out of the ever-swirling portal-bridge that connected Nirn and Sovngarde, the old man now sweating and gasping, looking so haggard as if his life had been nearly drained out of him. Cyril watched on as Alduin rushed to help his grimacing father up, his thoughts being projected to her as a voice, revealing to her in its furious tides of curses and growls, that his father had just managed to put down Mehrunes Dagon, the released Daedric Prince of Destruction.

Cyril shivered when she remembered Alduin's previous perception of the Daedric Prince, a hulking monstrosity of a demon, with scaly skin redder than Mars, bulging yellow eyes complementing his red bald skull, and four arms, each clinging to their own huge weapon, their muscles pulsing with raw energy of destruction. His every step had resulted in crackling pillars of fire that dwarfed and incinerated the ancient towers of the Imperial City and each wave of each arm had effortlessly squished the foolhardy warriors standing in the Prince's way with nothing more than sheer air pressure. That particular image was something that Alduin had smartly cut short, the dragon god understanding Cyril's mental limits. In the end, despite the Prince's ferocious prowess and lethal powers, one man in the collapsing temple had stood courageously against him, determined to finish his task. It was the last heir of the royal Septim bloodline, sacrificing himself to summon Akatosh to banish the prince.

Akatosh himself had appeared before the intruder in the form of a giant dragon wreathed in flames, his fire many times greater than the Prince's own. In a one-sided contest of divine power, Akatosh had struck down the defiant prince in a few swift blows and the prince, thoroughly beaten, had disintegrated into nothing more than beams of light, the mortal world rid of his foul presence. His duty done, Akatosh had given one last triumphant roar before flying up into the sky and parting the dark ominous clouds as he disappeared back into Sovngarde, where Cyril was seeing him right now. It was then clear to the memory watcher that despite Akatosh's seemingly easy victory over the Prince, the roar was more a show of bravado than true strength, for the victory came with great cost of his own energy, resulting in the exhausted, frail-looking god before her.

As Alduin's voice called out to his father while the latter collapsed down onto the glass floor, Cyril decided to that she could not take it any longer and with a wave of her mental hand, the scene blurred like a water reflection being disturbed by the ripples and Alduin's yells – a roaring mix of fury, concern and anguish – agonizingly echoed away, with his final words cursing humanity for creating so much trouble.

"_There is something I need to show you..."_

"And what exactly is this 'something', Destroyer Devour Master?" Cyril cringed when she said the translated version of Alduin's name. The meaning was ominous. Taken word for word, it makes sense that someone known as the World Eater would have that name. Taken metaphorically, it meant that the madness, the destroyer, in Alduin's mind would devour him, the master. Taken literally, it fit the scene when Lucifer tried to kill Alduin back when they first met, the destroyer attacking the master. There was nothing that even hinted a piece of goodness in his heart. His father had to be barking mad to give Alduin such a name.

Cyril knew that she was allowing herself to be distracted and after a shake of her head, continued to stare back at the bracelet, its silvery white surface reflecting off the glare of the lone ceiling light. Its chain of interlinked loops, each intricately inscribed with its own unique pattern, felt cold to the touch, which was perfectly normal for something made out of metal. However, when she allowed her thumb to brush over the shield-shaped centerpiece, the white holy shield was surprisingly warm, as if threads of comforting warmth were seeping out of the many crevices etched in to form a dragon's face.

"Your name is Gospel, huh?" Cyril gave a small smile as she brushed her finger over the shield again, taking in the warmth. "It's beautiful..."

_Same to you, Lord of the Beautiful Song._

Cyril silently flushed as the soft and gentle voice of Gospel echoed like a gentle ripple in her mind, reminding her of the meaning of her name, Cyril Yiuta. The Girl of the Shield had shown herself to Cyril a long time ago, after the DJ tried to call to her using Alduin's memories since she was left in interrogation. She never really got to see Gospel's true form from the blurry memories but when she did hear her voice, it was like a gentle stream, carefully circling around you and pulling away your sins. From then on, the two had never really attempted to speak any further to each other, both stuck in their own thoughts. More than once, Cyril had wanted to ask the white-haired goddess about the 'something' Alduin wanted to show her but every time she tried to open her mouth, gears inside her seemed to slip and she would find herself never uttering a sound. Now, as the brief exchange of praises finally passed, Cyril could feel her courage waning once more and her jaw seemed to become tighter and tighter until she found herself unable to speak more.

_Afraid of finding out? _

Cyril's eyes widened when Gospel's voice suddenly reappeared, breaking apart the cast of fear that hindered her. Fist clenching in the effort to hold on to her voice, Cyril stammered back. "Y-yes..."

_You don't need to be._

As the conversation finally progressed beyond two sentences, Cyril could feel the wall between the two of them being taken down brick by brick, making her replies easier and less panicked. "Re-really?"

_Of course. All you need to do is ask, Cyril, and I promise you the truth will be easy to take._

Cyril cringed again as Gospel's promise reminded her why she was so hesitant to ask in the first place.

"_Sometimes the truth is better left unsaid, my little Cereal..."_

_Dad._ Cyril closed her eyes as she took in the voice of her father imparting to her one of the many wise sayings he always loved to collect so much. It's been a long time since she had remembered her dad again and thus nostalgia from old love and sadness flooded through her vessels, as the girl with her daddy's yellow hair sank in once more into a memory.

This time however, it was her own.

**Hey, guys. Hope you like this chapter and please review whether you think the pace should go up a notch. Also, I won't be able to write for a bit since I will be having an exam next Wednesday(actually, Tuesday for those in America). I may try to squeeze in another chapter during then but if I don't, I hope that you can be patient. Thanks to Spartan for reviewing faithfully as always and congrats to Despicable for continuing his series.**


	89. Odahving Chapter 37

Inside the circular Death Room, the usual office of Lord Death had been converted into a medical room. With the appropriate protection. All the crosses that previously lined the endless desert had all sunk into the grains and the sea was lurching and shaking as if it had a mind of its own, as if every soul buried in it was now infused into it to form one massive beast. Where the elevated platform used to connect with the _torii_-rowed walkway was now covered by the silicon ocean, every grain within intent to protect the one on the platform from any sort of malice. Tentacles of sand rose up occasionally around the platform, forming a brief fence before falling back down again.

Despite his numerous trips to the Death Room before, Joe Buttaki was still both taken in and unnerved by the protective desert, half of his steps slowing to take in the awe-striking sight and the other half slowing in caution of what the desert would do to him if he ever so much as sneeze. As he finally neared where the walkway and the platform parted, the desert seemed to stop its wave-like motion and all was still while a moment of tension gruelingly dragged by. Joe nearly jumped and dropped his coffee cup when a sand tentacle rose up a mere feet away from him, the salty smell of it seeping through his nose, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

As the tentacle seemed to 'look' at him from left and right, Joe stood absolutely still, making sure to keep his eyes on the sand rather than on the people on the platform. He had once heard stories about the famous desert within the Nevada desert, about where the desert originated from.

The Element of Sand.

Joe never knew the particular individual responsible for this desert but one thing was obvious to him: if the stories were true, the elemental weapon of sand has remained loyal to Lord Death for at least 500 years, not once hindered by how scattered his soul has become. Even now, he is demonstrating his loyalty.

His name Joe did not know; it had been lost over the hundreds of years since his passing, since he broke his limit. That was the danger with the rare Elemental Weapon – overstrain yourself and the every bonds of your soul will break apart, your soul will disintegrate into billions of soul molecules, each within a single unit of your element. You will never reform again and as you become part of the fabric of nature, your element body will never think again, with only one sole piece of programming left inside of it.

Thus the desert.

As Buttaki went through all of this, the mindless tentacle scanned him from head to toe once more, before finally straightening into a spike for a few tense seconds. Joe's heart was soon in his mouth when two more spikes branched out from opposite sides of the original but he breathed a sigh of relief before gasping once more when the three spikes begun to reshape. In the end, the two branches had become distinct arms while the center had transformed into a very broad, muscular body, with a face so familiar that led Joe to nearly drop his cup in utter shock.

He was looking at himself, chin curtain beard and all, minus the colour except for sandy brown.

As the two lookalikes stood an arm's length away from each other, slitted-eyes and slitted-eyes locked with one another in a tense moment of judgement. One thought frantically that the other intended to spike him and then take his identity and his beloved coffee. The other...well...as if sand ever thinks...His eyes, rendered near-invisible by the uniform colour of sand, were suspicious though, their lightless irises already drilling holes into Joe with their grainy glare. While Joe appeared ready to continue on his paranoid conspiracies induced by watching too much TV dramas, his thoughts were suddenly cut short as Sandy Joe produced a small, albeit grudging, smile and then gave a nod which probably meant that Mr. Sandy found him agreeable. Or at least that was what Joe hoped.

Thankfully, the swirling sound of sand shifting against one another finally lifted the worries off him and as they disappeared, Joe was suddenly bombarded by a growing demand for oxygen, himself on the brink of self-asphyxiation; he had been so frightened that he had practically forgotten to breathe. As he continued to inhale once more, the dunes of sand cutting off the platform and the walkway begun to recede away like waxing waves, clearing the path and allowing Joe to walk through, with the man glancing at the sand nervously once more before continuing on.

Joe remained quiet as he stepped up onto the platform, the chief intelligence officer aware of the seriousness in the atmosphere. Nodding towards the Thompson sisters, Buttaki smiled softly as the two girls, now wearing their issued parkas over their cowboy outfits, nodded back at him from their seats. As expected, Liz was giving strange, frightened glances at the steering desert while Patty returned to building her sandcastle: a shapeless mound, with branching trails of silicon grains frantically trying to return back to their original body.

However, what deserved his attention were the two figures in the center of the platform and thus the entire room. One of them lay prone in the middle of a starch-white bed, lying under a new set of blankets, with a drip connected to his arm; the other sat solemnly in a metallic seat, his head of black hair decorated with three white half-circle stripes buried deep into the other's chest. Both Death and his Kid were obviously still asleep. As to reinforce that, Liz pressed her finger to her lips: a universal sign to stay silent.

Joe Buttaki nodded in acknowledgment. Nearing the two with careful, quiet steps, Joe sipped his coffee as he marveled at the physical similiarities between parent and child.

He had never seen Death unmasked and without his shroud before, let alone getting a chance to have a first-hand comparison of the two.

Death looked pretty young for someone who is at least a thousand years old. His pale skin remained fresh and wrinkleless, without a single pimple, scar, stretch mark or any image-marring mark at all. His facial structure was just like his son's: defined, oval-shaped, with barely visible frown lines. Even their hairstyles were almost the same. Death's short bangs were only a tad longer than his son's and where Kid's hairs jumped up as fours hooks at the back, Death had six such tips. There were differences, as expected from the massive age gap, most of which could be seen through their hair. As if depicting his millennium age, Death's hair was a pure white, with his three complete circle stripes a contrasting black. Sprouting facial hair, also as white, was also present, forming a five o'clock shadow. Death also had a few more wrinkles surrounding the edge of his eyes and joe was sure if Death opened his eyes, their golden irises would be a shade paler than his son's own.

"Like father, like son..." Joe murmured under his breath as he stood there, deciding that he should wait for the younger of the two to wake up. Then, as he was about to find a seat for himself, a glint just behind the standing Death Mirror caught his eye. "Eh? Was that...?" Eyebrows raised in puzzlement, Joe strode towards the mirror, rounding it in order to see what lay behind.

Joe felt a sense of relief wash over him as he spotted the fragments of glass strewn on the floor behind the mirror, the shape still definite enough to reveal their nature as remains of an hourglass. A small pool of sand lay in the midst and Joe wondered whether it was the sand from the hourglass, the desert or a mixture of both.

"The damn desert probably broke the thing in one of its waves..." Joe sighed as he gingerly picked up the glass fragments, placing them onto a metal plate, which he left to one side. "What's an hourglass doing here anyway?" Scratching the edge of his beard, Joe paused from what he was doing to eye Death but his stare did not last long, for he had no right to question someone unconscious. Besides it might just be some new hobby Lord Death was picking up. Or maybe a method he was using to count his days before...Kid takes over. 'Possible.' Joe frowned grimly, the intelligence officer knowing fully well the detrimental effects Kid's growth on his father's health; it was the most basic, yet most secret of Shinigami customs and why Shinigami is always named as Shinigami, not by his original name...But what can he, a simple human, do about that anyway?

Nothing, Joe knew that much.

His light-brown face softening with resigned acceptance, JB quickly used his gloved hand to swipe the sand off the floor, letting it fly back into the desert, no matter whether the grains had originated from the hourglass or the desert. It was just simple harmless silicon dioxide.

"Sir!"

Caught off guard, Joe abruptly shot up at the mention of his name, his head inevitably banging against the back of the Death Room Mirror. As the reinforced mirror stood its ground as if it was as strong as a pillar, Joe scratched the bruised back of his head with a painful grunt as he got back up from behind the mirror, his annoyed frown towards the yelling Liz showing that he was not amused. "What is it, Liz? This had better be worth my headache."

Liz seemed to be unfazed by his threatening tone, her eyes more transfixed on something else just off the side of Joe's face. A shaky finger she raised directly indicated what she was so unnerved by. "On...on the mirror!" For a moment, JB's blank face blinked absently at Liz's remark, the message taking grueling seconds to dig into his sore head. But when it did, he sprang up to his feet, a rather clumsy task for a man as big as he but he did not care. Death's mirror held several useful functions but it itself can only be used by Shinigami himself.

However, while it cannot be used by a normal person, it can be contacted from another side through any normal pane of glass and the numbers 42-42-564 written on it.

'That had to be it,' Joe thought in a mad mental rush as he quickly rounded around the Mirror, 'Someone must have already noticed our disappearance. Possibly one of the external DWMA branches or maybe one of the Death Scythes returning to the Nevada only to find a massive canyon left behind. Whoever it was, they would be able to get the word out to the rest of the branches and thus reestablish Death City's connection to the outside world from its remote location in the Himalayas. Connection would mean food, supplies and the possible return to normality for the residents of the city, as well as the very slim chance that they could transport Death City back to America. 'At last some good news since a long while," Joe grinned to himself as his eyes fell onto the already distorting surface of the mirror, its reflected images being subjected to wave-like bending, like the kind of reflections you get off a funny mirror. "Ooooh! I look like pasta!" Patty's blithe voice gleefully shouting the obvious caused Liz to face-palm but JB ignored her, his expectant eyes hoping to at least get someone reliable to appear on the other side.

JB's face fell when the distortion ended, the mirror's images fading to the side like clouds blown away by the wind, for there was nobody shown on the now deceptively transparent exterior of the mirror. Instead a string of numbers and names flashed by as they are pulled downwards, as if a mouse was pulling up an invisible scroll bar. At first, JB did not understand what the names meant, nor did the speed that the numbers crossed over the screen helped JB to even read them. However, as the names came coming down and exiting out, JB's jaw slowly sagged larger and larger as he begin to instantly recognize some of the more prominent names and his eyes adjusted enough to see that the numbers were decreasing up the list. That's right. It was a list.

"SHINGAMI'S LIST!" JB announced in jaw-dropped astonishment as the screen finally stopped to reveal the top 10 of the _original_ Shinigami list of the most wanted criminals and Kishins around the world. The list itself was legendary, a piece of eternal parchment that would change its death-sentencing list at Shinigami's whim and was said to located in an area so secure, nobody could see it without the Shinigami's permission, let alone try to alter it. The ones that JB was more familiar, the lists sent out to the DWMA branches to mark their targets were nothing more than mere replicas, powerless clones of the ancient original, and those prove troublesome whenever the original list is changed and all of them then immediately deemed outdated, bringing up a lot of unneeded paperwork and distribution for the DWMA administrative department.

'To think I would see the very list itself!' Joe could feel beads of sweat as an unusually familiar glow of yellowish skulls gleamed over the parchment and even exiting out of the mirror, thus showing the list as property of the Shinigami. "It's shiny and yellow, just like a giraffe!" Totally ignoring the star-like gaze of the bubbly Demon Gun, Joe felt his already caught breath gasp some more as the numbers of the Top 10 suddenly blurred and rematerialized in a single instance and Joe was now seeing the top 12th to 3nd Kishin Eggs on the list, their positions obviously moved down for two other threats much greater than them.

"One of them is definitely Odahving. But the other?" Joe did not know who it could be. He had been sharp enough to quickly understand that the unconscious Lord Shinigami was attempting to utilise the list to tell them something. However, he hoped it was something more than a simple hunt-and-destroy order. More importantly, who else could be second on the list? Stein? Alduin? Arondight or Excalibur? Joe frowned deeply as the clench on his fists begin to tighten even more, unsure what to expect next.

Then much to his surprise, words begin to come in, as if they were exiting out of a mist, finding themselves a spot beside the number '2'. In exquisite and cursive text, the name of Shinigami's second most wanted appeared and JB could feel his heart jump out of his mouth in utter surprise.

_Odahving._

"Bu...But...but...but..." JB was completely stunned as he stumbled closer towards the mirror, his shaking hands trying to touch the new name at the other side of the mirror, to no avail of course. "Impossible..." He had completely expected Odahving to be Number 1; it was obvious that the destroyer of a significant portion of Death City should be at the very top of the Shinigami's Death List. Why was that not so, right in front of JB's very eyes? It did not make any sense for Odahving to be second to someone else. No one else has ever created so much damage in a short amount of time nor could anyone match the intensity of his madness wavelength. So why is he only the second most wanted? Is Lord Death underestimating him? JB silently shook his head at the impossibility. 'I doubt it...Odahving was the very soul responsible for knocking him unconscious, even when Lord Death had a Death Scythe with him. It would not add up if Lord Death were to underestimate him after such a clear display of power.'

When the name of the number 1 appeared out of the mist as well, JB wished he did not question the mentality of Lord Death. Alduin, Stein, Arondight, none of those should take more priority than destroying Odahving. However, as for the person holding the top spot on the Shinigami's Death List, despite how little JB truly knew about this monster, he knew enough to understand what Lord Death was trying to do. "But is it really a smart choice, Lord Death? To bring him back?" JB whispered under his breath, his words unheard by Liz and Patty as they were blown away by the roar of the desert waves crashing against the platform. The desert seemed to have taken a new attitude of unease and diligence, as if the billions of soul particles recognized and reacted to the new name.

Or to be more specific, _No Name._

**Finally story development! Sorry to those who waited so long for this next update. I've been trying to decrease the length of individual chapters but without much success. But since it is the holidays on my side of the world, expect the update periods to shorter, although still unreasonably long for I will have to study my head off for exams in July! So read and review as always and this will be the second last of the chapters for **_**Rising Odahving. **_**The new names of the third book would be put up on a poll and I hope you can go to my profile and contribute. Thanks for your patient reading! **


	90. Odahving Chapter 38

**(Finally) Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater and its parts but the concepts and original characters that I have personally created are mine. Original characters from others are not mine. **

"Lunch time! It's lunchtime ladies! Get those pretty legs of yours moving! We've got 500 hungry mouths to feed and no packets on the trolleys!"

As the loud ear-grinding voice of the head stewardess rang through the completely plastic, purely decorative interior walls of the airplane's back cabins, Linda could not help but give out an exasperated sigh as the newbie stewardess, short and petite with her long hair kept out of the way in a single braid, tried to stack up the aluminum-foil-capped food sets onto her multi-story trolley, while at the same time fighting against the restrictiveness of the overly formal uniform of American Airlines stewardesses, coloured entirely navy blue and comprising of a double-breasted suit jacket whose peaked lapels made her feel small in it and a knee-length pencil skirt that was a size too small. Not to mention the meaningless-looking patterned scarf that constricted her neck like the noose of a hanging man. Even the high heels, though she had worn plenty before, felt awkward and ungainly thanks to the failed flexibility of her dress.

'Whoever made these should try to wear these first before handing it out. In the first place, whoever tested them better throw himself into a tornado for even passing these.' As her teeth grinded against each other, Linda became too focused dealing with her uniform that she did not notice the head calling out to her in her ever indignant tone. It was only when the stern-looking lady placed a firm grip onto Linda's shoulder, did the twenty-two year old finally realize her ignorance. Her heart nearly stopped while the poor girl slowly and robotically turned her head to greet the unimpressed eyes of her senior. "H...hi..." She managed to stammer out to the behemoth of a woman, fully expecting an unstoppable onslaught of berates and insults. Even though she experienced the exact same thing several times already, the head's voice, which at high volumes sounded like nails grinding against a chalkboard, still made the vocal beating as fresh as it had been the first time. And Linda had been, as of this flight, the most common of these targets. Tripping, stumbling, taking a fraction of a second too long and even a yawn was enough to warrant another of those ear assaults. Let alone ignorance.

Yet, something weird happened.

At first, the old lady – her thirty five years was pretty old for an air stewardess – continued to stare down at Linda with those cold, unmoving eyes and a moment later, her mouth opened ever so slightly, like ominous gates slowly opening to let out the armies of sound waves to flood over their unlucky offenders. Then all of a sudden, those eyes seemed to look at something out of a focus and Linda realized that the head's mouth was not trying to shout but was instead left slightly sagging, as if she was flabbergasted by whatever her eyes supposedly saw. "Erm...madam..." Linda realized her mistake too late, as the words were out of the mouth before she could slap them back in with her hands. Did she mention before that the head was old for a stewardess? So "Madam" was a direct pointer towards that fact and before, when Linda used the word to address her senior, she received enough spittle and strained eardrums that she was left shaken for an hour of the flight.

"I'm sorry, mad..." Linda slapped her mouth shut once again, this time fast enough to stop the last two letters from coming out, for better...or for worse. It sounded even worse; she might have just called her head "mad". Now she should surely get massacred. However, the head did not seem to have even heard the first "madam" and things got even weirder from then on.

For when her eyes came back in focus and the head finally took in a breath of air, a refreshed smile came up onto her mouth. "Ma...Madam?" Too astonished for formalities, Linda could not believe her eyes when the head's demonic demenour seemed to disappear and instead a sunny, grandmotherly one took its place, as the head gave an uncharacteristic pat on the brunette's head. Linda quickly back away when she felt the slightly crinkled skin against her scalp, unable to believe her sense of touch and sight. "Are you okay, madam?"

Her hearing must be playing tricks on her now, for when the head stewardess opened her mouth to reply, a melodious and light-hearted voice expected from a nursing grandmother came out, completely devoid of the ear-throbbing diction it used to possess. "Of course I am, young lady. What makes you say otherwise, dear?"

Linda's jaw dropped to the floor.

"I...Are you really oka-"

"Yes I am, dear. Thank you for your concern." The head produced one of those unnervingly sweet smiles towards Linda as she suddenly took Linda's economy-class trolley in hand, much to the other's surprise. And she was even more stunned when the head suddenly gave her a new set of instructions before she could object.

"I'll be taking these off your hands, dear. You'll be serving first class."

And so a few minutes later, Linda found herself out of the back cabins, pushing the filled first class trolley down the aisle, trying to get as little attention as possible from the economy-class and subsequently business-class passengers who were too engrossed in their own lunches, ranging from three steaming choices of beef and rice, fish and chips or macaroni and cheese, anyway. The image of the smiling head was imprinted deep within her eye sockets and it was not due to the airplane's cold temperature that she felt a shiver go down her spine. 'What the heck just happened? Did I...I just got called "dear" by the chief stewardess? I must have bumped my head hard or something.' Linda wondered on about the extraordinary happenings as she finally crossed through most of the length of the plane, now pausing as her trolley barely touched the red curtains that marked the entrance into the first class cabin. Right now, to the indecisive attendant, those curtains look like red brick walls, hard enough to withstand an invasion and merciless enough to smack the invaders back in the face. 'I'm new here. I'm not supposed to be serving high-class passengers until months later!' Linda thought frantically as she hesitated, her grip on the trolley's handle now slightly tighter than appropriate and her uniform all the more stiff. It took a good half minute for her to finally bring all her nerves back in control, the twenty-two year old putting on the sweet passenger-friendly smile she had been repeatedly trained to adopt, Linda gave a last sigh of effort as she pushed through the red curtains, her trolley disappearing in first before her sight was filled with the fabric of blood-red as she herself entered.

The first class cabin was glorious compared to the drab and bland themes of its economy counterpart and it also did not have the same all-serious business atmosphere about it as its appropriately-named companion had. The room itself had much lighter walls, with light brown contrasting with occasional strips of black, gave the cabin a much more relaxed feel and the lights were gentle enough to give an air of serenity yet bright enough to allow the stewardess to admire the unusually scenic view. Where plastic would usually be, there was smooth polished wood and even some of the metals were gold-plated, making this cabin that much richer. The chairs of the first class passengers, eleven in all, were as expected much more luxurious, with each boasting its own personal 'room', coming in the form of curving patterned walls, reaching up to the standing Linda's shoulders, that added a higher sense of separation and privacy between each owner. The seats themselves were both beautiful and yet practical, its soft cushions and massage-chair-like frame both adding look and comfort to the first-class experience. Not to mention the flat screen television embedded into each of the pseudo-wood walls just above the passengers' grandiose tables, offering many channels for their viewing pleasure.

For a while, Linda's worries about her senior were washed away in the awe for their grand surroundings and her smile became, for possibly the first time since she got her job, genuine, even growing as she continued to push down the V-shaped pattern of the seating aisle. The pattern resulted in five of the seats being located parallel to the right wall and another five located directly opposite, with the last one located in the center of the gap between the two sides, forming a perfectly symmetrical image that would induce a certain Shinigami to tears of gaiety.

Maybe it was due to this special pattern that Linda suddenly found herself deciding to serve the middle seat last. And so she took a spiral order, where she served beginning from the back of the right side and proceeding up the line, before turning into the left line and serving downwards from then on, until she reached the end of that line as well. As the young lady did just that, she kept on the light-hearted smile that lit brighter than ever before but as she gone down the order, that smile slowly grew smaller, before finally turning into a face of worry. When she passed by with a courteous "Hi, here is your lunch." and placed the tray of steaming hot _nourriture(French for food) _onto their own personal desks,every single one of the first-classees gave nothing more than a dismissive nod, with their eyes still plugged onto their television sets. Linda was used to that sort of response from economy-class passengers but as she had given half of the lunches, a thought struck her: that the first-class members, as important people with a reputation to keep up, should not be so spurning, or at least externally, if they want to keep up an impression of charity and courtesy that the paparazzi so very hate.

It was also not just their response. Their entire face was telling of something very wrong and weird. Much to Linda's aghast, every single one of them had their eyes, which were squinted to nothing more than minute slits, looking to their extreme right as their brows were scrunched up together, forming an upside down V with unusual folds at where the lines would meet. The expression created several visible face lines on the nose bridge and forehead area, making the passengers looked like they were having a bad case of stomach-ache. But the mouth was even worse. It was shaped in a sort of trapezium, with the right lower-edge of it being more pronounced than the rest, forming an unusual and funny L-shaped line around that area. To Linda, the passengers seemed to be having diarrhea. Either that or they were in sheer disgust with whatever they were watching. And to Linda's astonished realization after a few peeks, each first-class passenger were watching the exact same channel.

The name of said channel came in two big broad, yet unusually scary letters.

CN.

'C...N? Isn't the right name CBS?' Linda wondered with increasing alarm as she continued to have peaks at the channel as she went down. By the time she was done, the girl was near the edge of puking, her hands over her mouth in an attempt to hold in her stomach. Whatever CN was, it was a horrific network. Every time Linda looked at it, all she saw were scenes of destruction and death, explosions, massacres, manslaughter, lynching. The simply incredible numbers of rotting corpses that channel showed were already enough to send Linda's head swirling, the girl's smile now long gone and her steps now feeling awkward and painful. And yet, the channel gave more than a visual experience. Linda sweared that she could feel the stenches of burning flesh running up her nose, the fumes of poisonous gas tingling against her nose hairs, the metallic reek of blood rivers torturing her sense of smell. Her teeth chattered together in a meaningless attempt to remove the foul taste of red blood swimming over her tongue and the revolting oily 'layer' of rot between her teeth. Even her skin begun to shiver, as if it was touching against the cold dry skin of dead men and women.

WHAT IS THIS CHANNEL!

When the poor girl finally managed to stagger her way towards the man sitting in the center seat, her previously well-kept hair was messy and unflattering, her honey brown eyes bloodshot and haggard, her mouth trembled as the dry fragile skin cracked, her grip on the trolley so loose that it was a miracle she was still holding on to it.

Even though the wheels had long but rusted away.

"H... ...hi," Linda managed to stammer out to the smiling man in front of her, as her shaking hand painfully went for the last of the food trays, "he...here...is your...lu...lun...lunch...lunch..." As she finally managed to will the effort needed to place the tray onto the teenager's tables, the newbie stewardess dared to take a look at the grinning mastermind of all things strange within the plane. His blood-red hair was styled in a casual yet chaotic way, with side-swept bangs of hair covering over his left eye, along with the rest of the hair seeming in a paused state of explosion, spread-out yet seemingly close together enough to seem normal. The man's baggy jeans were an abysmal black, but with a hellish twist. Before Linda's stunned eyes, an orange-red trail of image fire crackled at the ends of the jean, first lighting up before being smothered once again by the darkness of the endless darkness. As for his upper body, the 17-to-18 year old had a softly firm frame that was akin to someone going to the gym only once in a while but yet every movement of his muscles beneath his long-sleeved shirt were exemplified by a sheer sense of power and strength, which were in turn magnified by the seemingly pulsing red lines that ran chaotically around the shirt.

Linda did not know what to say to this man. And the brief flash of sternness and aggression within his unhidden right eye made her not even want to speak, and so she quickly took her eyes off him and lowered her head in a slight bowing manner, all her spunk and courage now completely drained by this vortex of a person. Clearly deriving joy from her submissive act, the red-eyed man brushed his hand over her head, raising his face just a little in the middle of his widening grin to reveal his left eye. Linda dared another glance and she instantly regretted the audacious action. The boy's left eye was almost empty, as if there was nothing in there, except for the every-swallowing black hole that dominated the pupil. When she gave it a glance, the powerless Linda could feel her very soul being drawn in by the crushing gravity and then spaghettified into thousands and millions and billions of hopeless lifeless strands by sheer tidal force beyond her comprehension. And yet deeper into the empty center still, where light itself could not escape, Linda could feel something alive within the perpetually distant vortex, something which all of its characteristics were beyond her comprehension. All but one.

"Let's have a little chaos, shall we?"

Hands gripping so tight that her nails drew blood from her palms –not that she could feel the pain-, the stewardess named Linda fell to her knees as the disembodied voice of the Concept known as Chaos allowed his monstrous vocals to be heard by her and only her. And when he spoke the word 'chaos', one of the first-class passengers, the same eerie expression on his face, broke the top of his wine glass with a shattering clang and then pounced upon one of his fellow flyers. It would be the first of many movements.

By the time the carnage was done, all ten first-class passengers, from successful businessmen to rising stars to simply rich bastards, lie face-down or face-up across the first-class cabin floor. Dead. Some had forks jammed into their skulls, others had their throats slitted or their hearts stabbed by glass, one had been throttled to asphyxiation followed by an assuring neck-break, another was stamped to death by a leather shoe.

The most horrifying of all was an unlucky businessmen, who had been assaulted by four of his opponents.

Each one took a limb and pulled.

The resulting outcome was messy, to say the least.

The four then smacked each other to death with the flailing limbs in a drastically abominating version of an innocent pillow fight.

All of them had their blood spreading across the fabric-layered floor, the red liquid sinking in to form deep-red impressions, before being swallowed by more of their pouring brethren. Their souls, deathly black and corrupted , hovered in the middle of the air above their bodies before scattering away like helpless dust in the wind. All this while, Linda sat there completely still, not out of fear or shock or horrification, but merely lulling by the cackling cacophony of the ever-shifting voice. There was something in the way he laughed that seemed to enthrall her. The tone was ever-changing, widely swaying from high to low, to middle, to just god knows where. The frequency remained unpredictable; sometimes it was as fast as a machine gun, other times it was slow enough to beat the sloth and for all times it shot back and forth greatly in this range and beyond. The voice's volume burst into mammoth proportions, before diving down to a pin-drop and then becoming completely normal before tuning into multiple volumes at once.

Such random fluctuations for such random factors for such a random motion.

So when the laughter finally stopped, Linda laid there, her head sluggishly nodding back and forth, her eyes as distant and unseeing as her head stewardess had been in that rare instance an eternity ago. Her mind intoxicated and stagnant, she could only smile when the smiling teenager placed his hand on her head, rubbing his cold bone-like hands through her brunette hair. This time, her smile was not that of a respectful air stewardess, but was more in line with a pet, simply loving to be coddled. Little did she think that she was the last living person on the plane save the pilots, with everyone in the cabins she had passed through no more than soul particles and dead flesh, a result of a massacre that dwarfed the first-class cabin's little beat-up in size, scale and method.

All because the passengers were heading to the Malvinas Argentina International Airport in Ushuaia. The closest airport to the continent of Antartica.

His maniacal grin unending, Odahving could not hide his glee and mirth as he placed his mouth beside Linda's ears, softly speaking to the young stewardess. "Pardon me, young lady, but could I have a word with your pilots?"

**Hope you like this chapter depicting Odahving!**

**Thanks to Spartan for your OC bio update of Xeal and your constructive review.**

**Thanks to Despicable for trying to guess my appearance.**

**Thanks to the Internet for providing the factual information I needed.**

**Oh and thanks to my family for allowing me to write even though my exams are around the corner!**


	91. Odahving Chapter 39

"_Mum! Mum! Have you seen Dad anywhere?"_

_It was the year 2005, a year of many firsts for the young Cyril Yiuta. Her first out-of-state vacation just four months ago, where she and her parents had visited New Orleans, after a year of thrifty saving and preparation. The first time she had been to a festival, for be it fate or plain luck, they had visited right on the days of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. And it was also the first time Cyril came close to a natural disaster, as the hurricane known in its feminine name Katrina had demolished its way through the origin of jazz just a few days ago. It shook the nine-year-old when she saw the perpetual storms that rain bullets of water down upon the state, sinking into the powerful tides created by the ravenous floods and the hurricane wind. With a soon-to-be-released death toll of 1500 civilians, New Orleans would not look the same again for a long while._

_However, that was currently the last thing in the girl's mind, as she called out to her mother once again while hurriedly skipping down the stairs of their house. Her slightly oversized shoes skidded against the wooden floor in her hasty attempt to turn into the kitchen, only to brake with a screeching halt before finally losing their grip on the flooring, allowing the little blonde to comically smack her face right into the hardwood of the closed kitchen door. _

_As her reddening nose both ached from the pain and wiggled at the aromatic scent of nature, the girl could only stand there in total stun, letting her mother to open the door for her. "Ow..." she meekly whimpered as her gentle mum lovingly ruffled her short hair, giving out half-a-smile and half-a-giggle at her clumsy girl._

_At first, a stranger may not be able to see the relationship between Cherry Yiuta and her daughter, especially when Cyril seemed more 'American' than her Japanese mother. Most of the time, they would ask whether Cyril was adopted, which earn them a pinch in the face from the pouting girl. With permission, of course. Permission that her mother would sometimes eagerly dole out._

_It was only when Cyril's American father, Richard Yiuta, came in, would one be able to see Cyril as a fusion between the two. If you look close enough, you might see that Cyril's eyes were more narrow than her dad's, that her skin was paler than his, that her hair never gain the curls of her father, instead following the straightness of her mother. At the same time, Cyril differed from her mother with her blonde hair against her black, with her emerald eyes against dark brown, her nine-year-old stature already reaching her mother's shoulders, along with the fact that she never spoke in her mother's native language of Japanese, instead adopting the more practical and homely American English for her speech-craft._

_And so whenever the girl conversed to her mother in her perfect American English, her mother would reply to her in her own heavily accented version, sometimes even subconsciously falling back into Japanese for a second._

"_Where's Dad?" Cyril asked innocently, giving out another yelp as her mother prodded her nose with a tissue._

"_Just a second, hanii..." Her mother, forever with her soft motherly gentleness, clicked her tongue in small delight as she finally stuck the small green band-aid on to her daughter's nose, after minutes of attempts to curb her daughter's excited movement. "There. Is it better?"_

_Using her finger to cautiously poke her bandaged nose, Cyril raised her eyebrow as she gave an unsatisfied pout. "It still stings. I think it needs something more..."_

_It was an obvious cue._

"_I know just the thing." Giving a wide loving grin, the woman of Asian descent leaned slightly forward to give her blushing daughter a sweet little peck on the tip of her nose. "All better?"_

"_Much." Mother and daughter giggled heartily as they gave each other a tight embrace, a ritual they have never failed to enact everyday. _

_At their parting, Cherry Yiuta gave her daughter a smile, this time of reassurance. "Daddy's in the garage. You got yur present ready?" An excited nod and a pat on something in the left pocket of her skirt was all that Cyril needed to confirm it. "Yoi." Smiling her biggest smile yet, Cherry gave a signaling nod to her daughter, removing her hands to let her jumpy little hanii to run out of the kitchen, readily returning the air-kiss that her daughter gave in a brief turn-around. It was the best she could do to keep her daughter happy._

_Once her daughter was out of sight, Cherry's smile quickly fell away. For a moment of open emotions, a small bud of water sprouted at the edge of her eye, only to be removed by a quick finger. She must look happy. Cherry reminded herself that much as she gazed back at the unfinished cake, a brief intruding thought flashing in her mind, picturing the image of that cake smashed into the ground, ruined by her own hands. The woman waved it off, knowing too well that such a happy occasion deserved a happily-made cake._

_It is after all, Richard's birthday._

* * *

><p><em>The garage of the Yiutas' was widely known in the neighborhood for its frequent garage sales, with the ever-tinkering Richard always turning outdated and defunct technological trash into workable and even fashionable pieces, with some of these even being hailed as marvels by the neighbors. Many a visitor would often ask Richard outright whether he worked in some big technological firm before. But the tinker-man would always laugh it off with a smile, before bestowing upon the questioner one of the many famous quotes he had collected over the years and then introducing another item with salesman charisma.<em>

_Yet, despite the numerous sales, the garage was never as cluttered and unruly as many of its money-making kind. Instead it was quite the opposite; Richard was known for being a clean man. Places where layers of dust should exist would be pristinely cleaned; the most remote locations would never even have a speck, let alone the accessible regions. Boxes of old tech and spare parts were labeled and categorized efficiently and they were all kept inside a doorless cupboard on one side of the room, with each box given its own little cubicle, making them easy-to-read-and-reach. The lights, which would have been dim and gloomy bulbs for typical garages, were bright and energetic fluorescent beams, making the garage look more like a science lab. Not even the air was spared, as flying particles were purged by a custom automatic air filter, a Richard specialty, leaving the air not only clean of impurities, but freshened by the added scent of nature. _

_The only place that was dirty was the workbench but, as she gingerly came inside, Cyril knew very well that that was only temporary. "'Clean up your own mess,' Robert Fulghum would say!" was something that her father always told her every time she visited him in his heaven of a workplace. And she would comply. "Your room is...NEAT!" Her friends would never fail to praise the incredible orderliness of her bedroom. The only problem was that she could never match the garage, which was very embarrassing. She could never know why her father's haven was so pure. She borrowed his filter, she tried to clean her room every day and she even went to the extremes of 'borrowing' the garage air with enough jars to 'purify' her room twice-over. Sadly, none of her methods worked and the girl was never lucky enough to sneak in on her dad when he was cleaning, a mystery that would always puzzle her greatly. _

"_Ah, but Khalil Gibran says: 'If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.'" Cyril remembered her dad's quote when she inquired him about his cleaning methods. She could barely stifle a giggle at the hilarious memory of her throwing a tantrum and giving her dad an angry bite on the ear, along with her father working hard at getting her to calm down. She remembered him chasing her around the house with an apologetic look as she desperately tried to avoid him and recalled his puppy eyes of adorable sadness that were matched by the stubborn gaze of an angry kitten._

_It had taken her cajoling mother, thirty pokes, eleven ear-bites and twenty hours of sweet-nothings before Cyril finally shortened the distance between her and her dad from ten meters to five. That particular day had been one of playful agony, spunk and stubborn power._

'_A good day.' She thought silently to herself as a sly smile crept up her face. Standing on her tippy-toes, the cheeky girl snuck slowly and quietly towards the back of the tall blonde-haired man who was too focused on the work on his bench to notice his little girl approaching with malicious intent. In a large ambushing burst of giggles, Cyril wrapped her hands around her father's green eyes, mentally laughing to herself as her father leaned away from his workbench in surprise. "Guess who?"_

"_Hmmm...let me see...Given your little hands, sing-song voice, cheeky pranking and the fact that you can only be one of two other people in this house..." The blinded man smiled from ear-to-ear as he suddenly rose up._

_Cyril could only give out a gasp as her father swiftly spun around to grab her under his arm, dislodging her hands from his eyes and leaving her helpless to the subsequent waves of tickles that ran across her body. "It could only be my little box of Cereal!" Richard Yiuta gave a loud guffaw as he identified his daughter with her nickname, his rough fingers quickly crawling over her skin, tickling the little girl to a state of unstoppable laughter and mirth._

_Trying her best to speak in the midst of her explosive fits, the little girl could barely concede defeat to her dad. "Hahaha...Da-hhahaha...you-hahahaha...got me...Haha...you got me." Victorious, Richard could only beam a self-satisfied smile, his arm slowly and gently letting his little girl down onto the ground, only letting her go when her little petite feet held firm on the floor. Bad move. Ten seconds later, he was rolling on the floor begging for his life as a little blonde monster exact her revenge with lethal pokes and pinches._

"_Okay okay, you win! You win!" The man with his neat curls waved the white flag, his other hand cupped over his neatly-kept chin and mouth, trying its best to stop its owner's unending peals. The man continued to laugh even when the evil-eyed kitten finally ended her assault, turning her back towards him as she gave a stubborn 'hmph', trying to hide how drunk from victory she really was inside. "You're no fun..." She pouted as genuinely as she could, trying to avoid her father from spotting her eyes watching for his reaction from their corners._

_The problem for Cyril, her dad knew her too well. As he laughed once more at his little girl trying to give him the cold shoulder act, the man lifted himself up from the ground, a quote coming to mind as he did. "Ah but let us quote Will Glasser: __We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and..."_

"_...fun." Resistance is futile, as the Borg always state in their mechanical monotone sound-bytes. Cyril understood that much, as the little girl finally fell into another round of giggles, before dive-bombing into her dad's arms in an embrace equal to the one she had bestowed upon her mother. This time though, while Cyril had previously managed to wrap her arms around her petite mother's neck, her relatively short stature in comparison to her tall dad forced her to settle with joining her arms around his torso, the little girl burying her head into his broad chest._

"_Happy birthday, Dad!" her voice, despite being muffled against her father's chest, still held a tone of happiness and joy. One that made Richard smile lovingly at his daughter, his hand softly combing through the hair which inherited its pigments from him, his fingers never getting caught in the strands that had taken their shape after her mother._

"_Ai, my little Cereal. I'm finally 40 years old. You do not know how much I dread this day."_

"_Huh?" Cyril tilted her head as her father suddenly went into a comical rant._

"_Forty years old. Soon enough, back pains will be running through my spine, my fingers would lose their steadiness and this brilliant smile of mine would soon have gaps in it. Mr. Muhammad may talk all day about how '__Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.', but I am sure that he turning senile then. But..."_

_Much to her shock, Cyril's father stared at her with those old, yet ever-nurturing eyes of his, those emerald pupils sparkling at the simple sight of her. The young girl could only gasp as he continued. "I have a beautiful and gentle wife. Women like her may never be found again in this changing tide of active women. My neighbors have always supported me in my times of need and in their moments I have gladly returned the favor. My works never receive the fame that my teenage dreams had envisioned but they have done their purpose and beyond...But those parts of my life pale in comparison to the best thing standin right in front of me..."_

"_A daughter that other parents could only wish to have. My little Cereal. You. And with that, I can now quote Lillie Langtry: "I do not regret a moment of my life."" Richard Yiuta smiled at the stunned Cyril happily, or was it sadly. She could not discern what her father was thinking but the emotional speech had dislodged the stone in her throat and the girl found herself dashing forward to give her father a grateful hug, this time, her hands successfully around his neck, as the man bent down to receive her. As they hugged, Cyril kept on hoping that the feeling of eternity would pass through her, making the embrace last as long as possible but when they finally released each other, the little girl sighed as the saddening sense of passing moments filled her up instead._

"_So what have you got for me, sweetheart?" Her dad nodded at her expectantly as he sat back, watching his daughter scramble through her pockets in badly-hidden anticipation._

"_It's nothing much but I think this will look great on you." Cyril could not stop herself beaming in pride as she finally produced her present, keeping it clasped within her hand out of sight from her father's curious eyes._

"_Oh? On me? My dear little girl, as everyone says, this smile of mine goes with everything. So let me see." Richard's eyes soon found themselves popping out of their sockets in surprise as Cyril suddenly turned her back towards him with a tantruming huff._

"_So you are saying that my present is the same as everything else..." Cyril whispered under her breath, just loud enough for her father to hear and fierce enough to give him shivers down his spine. "Alright, alright, sorry sweet heart, I take it back. This smile of mine goes with everything, but it goes with some things even better. Happy now?"_

"_Perhaps." Cyril's steel-like expression instantly gave way to a heart-warming smile, her arm rising up as she unclasped the fingers over her gift. It was a necklace, its length formed by thin golden chains, their surfaces reflecting off the shine of the fluorescent lights. However, it was obviously the pendent itself that would earn the pleasant gasp of Cyril's father, as he edged even closer to examine it closely. It was a small circle that surrounded a falcon head, with the little beads that appeared periodically along the ring's length. No, not beads, Richard thought to himself as he managed to spot the intricate patterns across the thin curved cylinders. They were little golden drums. "Well?" Cyril shone as she noticed her father's awe-struck stare at the raijin pendent._

"_Did Mum get you this?" Her father raised his brows as he relieved Cyril of her present, looking over the necklace over and over again. While he did that, Cyril watched him in proud silence, patting herself on the back as she remembered how she pestered her mother to buy the pendent, which she had spotted during one their visit to a Japanese store. "Sort of..." Cyril awkwardly answered as she rubbed the back of her head, trying not to look too guilty._

"_It's a great gift."_

"_Really?" Cyril felt her heart skip ten beats at her father's praising words and watched in even more excitement as the American wound the chain necklace around his neck, allowing the raijin symbol to lie nicely at the base of his neck, where his clavicles meet to form a fitting v-shaped spot. "Of course, it is!" Her dad mused as he admired the necklace, even fingering it in amusement. "Thank you, sweetheart." He whispered gratefully to her as he gave a gentle smooch to her forehead._

"_I'm glad you love it, Dad. Now I think we should go. Mum is getting the cak-"_

"_Ah, wait a minute." Cyril paused in puzzlement when her father suddenly turned back to what was on his workbench. Before, Cyril had been too busy to notice what new invention her dad has been up to but now that her attention was free, the little girl tried her best to see past her father's broad back, with no success._

_After a few more screws and a little adjustment, a minor cheer turned into a rambunctious echo when Richard Yiuta suddenly barked, "It's finally done!" "Huh?" Cyril did not know what to expect when she was finally shown what machine her dad had been busying himself with._

_Even then, the headphones that matched her emerald eyes was not among the millions of possibilities her technologically experienced mind came up with. As the cordless headphones were placed upon her head with encouragement from her father, Cyril could not help but gawk at the headphone's earpieces slipping off her ears, before falling just below her jawline. The headphones were easily too big for her, a fact confirmed by her laughing father rolling hilariously on the floor. "They were made for your future self, when your head gets bigger," her father finally explained as he gently rubbed where the most recent of Cyril's vengeful pokes had attacked his skin._

"_Remember the time we went to New Orleans. When you went to try out for a small bit of disc jockeying, remember how you were so natural with the machine that the main DJ even said that you should try out disc jockeying some other time. So what better way to complement your DJ skills than to give you your very own Richard-limited-edition headphones! Even now, they look good on you!"_

_And Cyril had to agree. She did indeed recall about that particular incident. It was...unsual, to say the least. When she was briefly introduced to how the DJ machine worked, she remembered herself barely listening to the man. Instead, her focus was more on the music, the notes and the sound. She could hear it all: the tone, the register, the pitch, the power and most importantly, what the next step was. In the end, what had been an initially frightening experience in front of a few hundred people turned into a fun and amazing adventure._

_It was not the only time pure music appealed to her. When she found her first song on Youtube, there was something about diluted sound that she did not like and she immediately gave a pouting dislike before dropping Youtube altogether, which, as we all know, is a tremendous feat. Cyril would always find herself recreating songs she hear with her footsteps and tongue-clicks alone and her classmates had always commented on how close she was able to replicate the original. _

"_Of course, these are more than just your average headphones. They will help you out in more ways than stylish looks and music." Her father gave her a knowing smile as the girl tried to pester him into telling her more, giving her a finger over his curved lips, "Egyptians always say: silence is golden. Don't worry though; you will figure it out yourself in time."_

_"However, I can tell you this. Whenever you wear these headphones in your future career, remember that Daddy will always be watching over you, talking to you when you need my advice most. Listen out for my words then. Okay?"_

_"Alright." Cyril gave out a last huge smile as she once again threw herself into her dad's arms, pretending that she is hearing the thump of his beating heart through her headphones._

_If only she truly understood how unpredictable hearts are. Sometimes they beat fast, sometimes they beat slow, sometimes they skip a beat._

_For one time they just stop._

* * *

><p><em>What Cyril did not know was how right her dad had been with his words. Not just in that she will find out more uses for those particular one-of-a-kind handphones, but also in how many moments he has in his life. For in all the conversations that Cyril and her parents had that day, there was one unspoken event that was difficult to talk about. In the next day, Richard Yiuta was to head to Iraq in honor of his nation and in pursuit of the terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda, as are so many other men in the army.<em>

_That day had been a happy one, with Cyril having the time of her life as she celebrated her dad's birthday and munched upon the lovely black current cake that her mother whipped up. And so, when she was placed in her bed, she would whisper sleepily to her dad to how happy she was to give her dad a real gift for the first time and thankful for the lovely headphones that now hang around her thin neck. She gave him childish blessings and wishes, hoping for him to return home soon, her childish mind still not able to comprehend what war could bring about._

_So, as her lids slowly crept over her emerald orbs to fill her vision with sleep-inducing darkness, Cyril popped out one more smile as she saw the raijin pendent on her father's neck, her mouth slowly moving to beg the pendent to allow her father to come home fast._

_That was the last she saw of the pendent._

_The year 2005 was a year of many firsts for our young little Element of Sound. Her first trip. Her first disc jockeying. Her first close call with a natural disaster. Her first gift to her dad. Her first time with her dad overseas._

_Her first time with two ceremonially uniformed strangers coming up to the door and giving a respectful knock. Her first time to see two strangers salute solemnly to her when they spotted her and her mother through the door's window. Her first time seeing her mother falling to the ground in eye-reddening tears. Her first time visiting the cemetery, where the howl of the dead flew through the wind and the birds cooed with sadness in their voices._

_It was also the first time she had heard a gunshot, a most piercing of sound ringing through the air, overwhelming all other sound waves in the world. It was the first time she had heard such a sharply depressing sound. _

_Let alone 21._

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it, the memories that Cyril had fallen into. Sorry for the delay since I was having writer's block.<strong>

**Hoped you like them and please review if you want to.**

**Also please do go to my profile in order to participate in the poll for the name of the third book in this series and if you believe that there can be a better name, please PM to me.**

**Finally, kudos to the American Soldiers who have done their country proud. You've earned my respect. That is why I will not have any political arguments here about who or what was responsible for the wars. Shame on such people to create conflict even though the soldiers they argue for are people who seek to end conflict.**


	92. Odahving Chapter 40

"I know it is all fine and dandy to go searching for someone you _thought_ you saw, but don't you think you are pulling us through a wild goose chase, Xeal? Besides, my tank's running low and I need gas."

"We are searching for that Coffin guy, Toya, and that is FINAL. Your gas tank is not gonna kill you for lacking a few black drops, but I most certainly will if you transform below my feet while I am moving at 100 kilometres per hour." Xeal Dragomir, his short silvery hair flying crazily in the passing air, looking like white threads against the black of his long hooded cloak, gritted his teeth as he applied more pressure onto the accelerator, receiving a resigned grunt from the motorcycle below him. The roar of its, or his, engine rose, with Akira Toya the speeding Demon Motorcycle weaving flawlessly through the obstacles of the street, be they people, stones, trees or jutting street tiles. Akira smiled in his reflection on the Kawasaki Ninja 650R's sleek Tron-themed full-fairing shell as he playfully dodged one such tile at the last moment, knowing full well that he understood the streets of Death City like the back of his windshield. In this city of the Nevada desert, he is the fastest man alive.

Except that he was not in the desert anymore. He was in the Himalayas, a high-altitude mountain-range that could stretch on for a total of 2,400 kilometres, which would take Toya 14 hours to complete at his maximum speed. Minus the hills, the slopes, the mountains and the snow of course.

Wait, snow?

SNOW!

It was too late for the realizing motorcycle to stop before his wheels slipped into the icy patch on the road. For a moment, all seemed fine as Akira felt the freezing cold dampness on his wheels. Almost immediately after, Akira felt his wheel slip and he gave a howl of pain as his 'legs' splitted. The houses, the trees, the world revolved around him as the motorcycle dizzyingly spun through the snow, and knowing full well he could not afford another visit to the workshop, a white sheen covered Akira from bumper to vehicle plate and the vehicle morphed into a shape of a boy just as it was about to flip over. Shattering into a thousand tiny wisps, the sheen dispersed to reveal a boy with a faux hawk of brown hair screaming in mid-air. His black motorcycle jacket protecting him from the cold, the 16-year old yelped as he tumbled on the snow like a skipping stone, finally stopping when he managed to stop his body from flying on. His breath bumped out of him, Akira wheezed as he brushed off the snow in his hair, unable to appreciate the sensation known as brain-freeze.

Looking around where he had tumbled about, Akira found himself lightening up when he saw a two-story house that was part of the long row of terraces, but stuck out like a sore thumb with its hundred or so swastikas painted onto the red brick walls. "I guess we are here after all. Safe and sound," Akira cheered as he brought himself back up, brushing off any leftover snow on his body.

"Might it be too much for you to reconsider that statement, Mr. Toya?"

"Oh shiiiiiiitttt...," Akira's voice dragged down into a whisper, as he turned around towards the calm and polite voice behind him, beads of perspiration dribbling down his forehead. Akira's eyes turned meek when they looked upon the runed greatsword stabbed deep into the street, the intricate symbols glowing from blue to yellow to white. And then to red. Angry red as the familiar white coat of transformation engulfed the blade. BOOM! Akira quickly covered his face as the street surrounding the blade suddenly exploded. Tile fragments and concrete chips flew up into the air, dust and snow clearing to reveal an obviously pissed Xeal Dragomir. He paid little heed to his disrespect of public services as he stomped his way out of the man-sized hole he created in the middle of the street.

"What did I say about NOT transforming beneath me?" His face a red flag of screaming anger, Xeal could hear his teeth grind ever so savagely while he stretched out and grabbed Akira by his shaking collar. "I'm gonna to beat you up so bad you are gonna wish I had broken _both_ of my arms!"

Indeed, Akira suddenly found himself, scared to desperation, begging some sort of divine intervention to come down and strike down the monster of rage before him. With no results. Eyes narrowed, Xeal grunted as he lifted Akira off the ground with his right arm, his left arm, encased in a cast and tied up in a white sling around his neck, shifted slightly to compensate for the weight of the motorcycle-boy.

_Flashback Started_

_His feet trying to ensure that he was at top speed, Xeal felt himself almost – note almost- pausing when he felt the ground begin to shake and he tried hard to stop gawking when a awakened Crona fired a full-screaming Screech Alpha towards the battlefield he was running towards. As he landed onto the next rooftop, Xeal barely missed a step when he saw from behind the blocking screen of houses shot up the red-haired Kishin, who was screaming curses to the sky, his demonized Excalibur wings working as fast as they could, their wing beats sending winds that seemed to move the dark clouds in the sky that rolled in endlessly. Then, a hissing roar of a monster boomed through the city and the ground shook, like with the many quakes caused by the battle between the Kishin and the black-haired boy but much more ferocious. Xeal definitely missed two steps when he saw what that 'Odahwing' or 'Otahling' was so scared of: its eyes forever focused on its prey, a giant green flying serpent charged forth after him, its skull-like head looking as if its biological direction had been reversed, with its bones outside and its muscles inside. It did not help that at the back of the skull, a harlequin green mane, looking as if it was made up by screaming ghosts, with bottomless pits for eyes and green-fiery furnaces for mouths. Whatever it was, its pursuit was relentless._

_Xeal vaulted over to the next roof, making sure that his eyes were on the path, not the monster. But the screams, the yells, the roars, the quakes and the winds tempted his blue orbs to look up ever so minutely and the ringing sound of shattering glass was the final bait. Keeping his pace up, Xeal looked up towards the chaotic sky, gasping when the snake, its bright green hulk like a neon light in the dark sky, burst through what seemed to space, its head disappearing from one area and charging out into another area, right behind the Kishin, who gave no more than a scream of shock before the monster's maw snapped him up, the rest of its body coiling up around like a spiral. Xeal had barely any time to look towards the four shining crests now revolving into the sky, fire, earth, water, wind and Death knows what other elements pouring into the accelerating disk of gems. Feeling a tingle on the nape of neck, Xeal's concentration went back onto the roof-path, finding himself running straight towards the roof end, too late to stop and too late to make a decent jump to the next house-top._

"_I need a HOOK!" Xeal yelled at the top of his voice as he dared to leap, his DWMA-trained muscles pushing him forward further than any normal ones can. Yet it was not enough. The Demon Greatsword found himself falling just short of the next roof, which means he was going a long way down. "Screw you gravity!" His right elbow quickly turning white, Xeal's jaw tightened with effort as he stabbed the wall with his new protruding arm blade, his eyes blinking to avoid the pieces of brick and concrete sputtering out as his initially speedy descent finally came to a stop, the required effort having carved a nice straight cut into the wall, with Xeal hanging by his elbow at the end. Not that the owner would mind._

_Sighing a fresh breath of relief, Xeal's left hand wiped off the sweat produced on his face, before bending in its arm to allow the already glowing elbow to jut out. 'Still a long way down,' Xeal thought as he glanced towards the dim floor a good four stories below. 'Now I definitely want to go up.' Xeal thought as he readied to stab his left elbow blade into the wall. Yet, out of nowhere, Xeal felt his left arm stop mid-raise, a sudden lethargy enveloping it. No, not just his arm. His entire bod-_

_The next instant, Xeal found the wind rushing through his hair – feeling like a pillow? - and his eyes – so tired- closed as they watch the house roof moving further and further away from him. The last thing he could feel was his left arm bumping against something and the sensation of the fire he registered as pain running through his nerves. But even that was forgotten and ignored in the numbness of sleep._

_Flashback Ended_

Gritting his teeth from the rage of his memory, Xeal felt his arm lift the struggling Akira higher and higher, almost ready to smash the boy into the ground. Akira was horrified as he saw himself lifted up, his efforts at freedom doubled but to no avail. Luckily for him, a voice familiar to both of them saved Akira from his friend's assault. "Xeal? Akira? Why are you guyz standing outside in ze snow? Come in." Akira was never so happy to hear a German accent before.

"Fritz!" Akira cheered when he spotted the thickset teenager, who was easily a chestnut-brown-haired head taller than the grimacing Xeal, walking out of the Swastika-patterned house. His blue eyes were widened, clearly puzzled over why Akira was being one-hand-lifted by Xeal. For a good few seconds, Fritz looked on cluelessly at the duo, trying his best to figure out what was happening at his doorstep. Finally, a look of understanding sprang onto his face and his mouth moved to form a slient 'Ohhhhh' while he kept on much watching, much to Akira's chagrin. "Don't just stand there in awe! Help me escape my funeral!"

"R-right." Fritz nodded as he quickly took a step forward. Almost immediately, Xeal shot him an icy glare. Fritz froze on the spot.

"Z-zorry, Akira. I want to live."

Akira understood what the good-hearted Fritz meant and thus he gave out a gracious sigh. "Ha...I can't blame you." Returning back to Xeal, Akira felt his limbs, no, his entire body trembling uncontrollably as Xeal's eyes stared up towards him, their blue pupils flaring like cold fire, icy yet ferocious. Akira allowed a nervous gulp to go down his throat, his body remaining suspended by Xeal's lifting arm. The fiery eyes seemed to be drilling holes into Akira, as if the mind behind them is contemplating how to deal with his target in the most appropriately sadistic fashion. Despite him being an atheist, Akira prayed fervently to someone, anyone above who can help him out. 'Please, I know I need that it can only happen by a miracle, but I really need Cyril now!'

That miracle never came. Instead a different one took its place.

"Finding Mr. Coffin takes precedence over all else. That is final." Akira was shocked to stillness as he was slowly placed back onto the ground, his own feet shifting against the tiled street, unable to believe what they were touching. What just happened? His gaping mouth widening even more when Xeal's hand suddenly let go of his collar, Akira silently rubbed his ruffled collar, confused over the lack of a certain hand grabbing the fabric and pulling him up. His face still sinister but lighter than before, Xeal crossed his arms as he continued to speak, "Personal matters should remain separate from official business. Isn't that right, Akira?"

"Huh?" Akira was just too stunned to hear him properly, his voice simply mouthing the word instead of speaking.

Xeal's face instantly darkened. "I said, isn't THAT RIGHT, AKIRA?"

"Y-Yes!" Akira acknowledged, his head quickly nodding furiously in order to convey his message.

Satisfied, Xeal sported a menacingly grateful smile, the 'positive' energy behind it sending shivers behind Fritz's and Akira's spine. "Good. Fritz?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to close your ears."

"Close his ears? What do you mean-" Akira's face turned to relief to horror when Xeal's leg suddenly pulled back, the tip of Xeal's boot shining in all its brutal awesomeness. "Wa-wait! WAITT!"

"THIS IS FOR INAPTITUDE IN TRANSPORTATION DURING OFFICIAL BUSINESS!" His smile warped from 'grateful' to 'harmful', Xeal roared as his leg shot forward.

Heading straight for Akira's groin.

* * *

><p>"So you saw Mr. Coffin as well, huh, Fritz? And right in the DWMA?" Xeal frowned as he contemplated the information that Fritz gave him, drinking up the coffee that Fritz had kindly given him. They were inside Fritz's house, with the trio sitting in what looked like a normal living room, with a couch and two other chairs surrounding a single wooden table, where the three coffee cups were placed on. One for Xeal sitting on one chair, another for Fritz seating on the opposite side and the last one for a squirming meat bag moaning in pain as he laid on the couch, his hands grabbing his crotch as if applying pressure would soothe the pain. Xeal, deep in his thoughts, paid him no attention to his squirming colleague, unlike Fritz who gave worried looks every time the meat bag gave out a shivering murmur.<p>

"Yes. Hooded man, black clothes and a giant coffin on hiz back. Maka saw him as vell. He even spoke to us in Japanese."

"Japanese? Sounds like my guy. I could not even make a head or tail of whatever he was saying. So I had to communicate with my sword."

'Right...'communicate',' Fritz gave Xeal a knowing look, one that was unnoticed by the still thinking Xeal. It was pretty typical for Xeal to 'communicate' with his wrathful combat prowess. Even on his first day of coming here, Fritz remembered Xeal being faced off by a certain blue-haired ninja boy with an obnoxious streak and most of DWMA would discuss the resulting battle excitedly for the next two months. It was not because the battle was long, visually appealing and eventful. Oh no, it only lasted five seconds. Five seconds, a single hand-wave and Ninja Boy was lodged so deep into the ground that only his dizzy head was left above, like one of those little moles in your typical whack-a-mole game. Ten meisters and two cranes were summoned to pull the boy out but it was only when Xeal, sighing in sight at the failing efforts to get Black Star out, gave another hand-wave was Black Star freed from the ground and hanging unconscious on one of the DWMA's red spikes. Xeal was famous by the afternoon. Four months later, he earned his two stars.

In terms of power, Xeal was king but in chess, the queen is always stronger than the king. When Cyril came, no one could touch her. Even Xeal's greatsword at full power would have simply phased through her sound form, not even leaving a scratch. To think that someone could actually touch her and even hurt her...Fritz felt himself shiver. Rumors and gossip had spread throughout the city like wildfire amid the sadness of mourning for the four hundred lost and pretty much everyone, exaggerated or not, knew the basics of the fight between Odahving, Cyril and...

Alduin.

A god? Fritz remembered seeing the young man when he was being brought into the DWMA and to the dungeons by an entourage of fifty DWMA watchmen, tied up tightly in a staggering amount of chains and having at least twenty locks keeping the chains together, each one with a different key on a different watchman. What made Fritz even more surprised was how cool and calm the god was with the circumstances, his raven-colored eyes showing absolutely no discomfort with the bindings around him, as if they were more of a simple accessory rather than a prison. Fritz could even swear that the young man smiled towards him when he noticed Fritz looking at him curiously. It was a friendly smile, not one expected from a person bogged down in chains. Still, it made Alduin all the more frightening.

"Xeal..."

"Huh?"

"Did you hear about...Alduin?"

"What about him?"

Fritz hesitated, one side of him puzzled that Xeal would not have heard about something as big as this and the other wondering how he would react. "They say Alduin is a god."

"Oh. Alright. Thanks for telling me. Now shall we go back to Mr. Coffin?"

"Xeal?" Fritz's jaw dropped at Xeal's feigned ignorance. "You don't even care?"

"Of course I do. It's not every day that you get to argue face-to-face with a real life god."

"Then why?"

Xeal smiled, a genuinely positive smile. His voice, while still cold and aggressive, had a tinge of finality in it. "Because Cyril trusts him. I trust Cyril and thus I trust him. Enough logic for you, Fritz?

"I don't under-"

"Fritz." Xeal's frown deepened and his voice lowered menacingly. "I believe it is best for us to keep personal matters out of official business. Shall we go back to the real threat?"

Knowing full well not to annoy Xeal, Fritz tried hard to swallow the lump in his throat, croaking out a simple 'yes'.

"Good. I know you are German and all, Fritz, but did you understand even a little bit of what Mr. Coffin said?"

"I did not." Fritz shook his head discouragingly but before Xeal could give out a sigh, Fritz quickly continued. "But Maka did."

Suddenly Fritz found himself staring nose-to-nose with Xeal, who, alerted by this sudden information, jumped out of his seat, grabbed Fritz by the shoulders and pulled their faces close, his light blue eyes staring seriously at Fritz's darker ones. "SHE DID? What did Mr. Coffin say then?" Xeal asked as he furiously shook the shocked Fritz, who tried his best to collect his wits together before he answered.

"He said 'I know'. It was a response to Maka's question to me, about how Death City managed to move itself from the Nevada and land in the Himalayas."

"Did he say any more? Did he-" Xeal suddenly stopped abruptly in the middle of his question, leaving Fritz gawking in surprise as Xeal suddenly seemed to stare into the distance, his eyes unfocused. Worried, Fritz quickly waved his hand in front of Xeal's eyes, talking to him in a tone worried enough to prompt Akira to sit up from his position on his couch. "Xeal, are you okay?"

"I sense him."

"Xeal?"

"Mr. Coffin. He's reappeared."

**And the exams are over. Thank the heavens for this. Hope you like this newest chapter and please do review!**


	93. Odahving Chapter 41

**As I have promised, I will be trying to increase my update time, starting from now.**

**Meanwhile...**

His back pressed against the polished wood of his bedroom door, Soul could hear himself sigh as his hands wiped over his face, as if trying to wipe off the guilty expression on it, with one energetic finger fingering with his trademark headband. His hate for Alduin was no less; that still stood but Soul just could not believe that he had blown his top at Maka. His meister, his partner and his trusted friend. Not cool, man. Not cool.

The prodding feeling of guilt in his head strengthened even more when his ear pressed itself on the door, noticing the discussion, or lack thereof, outside in the living room. It was a cold silence that was permeated with sadness and despair and Soul desired so much to just pop out of his bedroom and lighten up the mood. But his pride held him back and Soul reluctantly held back the shivering hand that had been reaching for the doorknob, a grimace on his face showing his displeasure with that decision.

That displeasure was only slightly comforted by Soul's self-assurance that he was doing the right thing by opposing Alduin. After all, Alduin deserved punishment for his lies, his trickery and his manipulation. Sure, he can be praised and thanked for saving the people of Death City but he had brought a Kishin in, allowed the murder of almost 500 people, had Stein captured and probably had doomed a world to the rampage of a powerful Kishin.

"Not to mention the cold. Ah choo!" Soul sneezed as his nose wiggled in the cold atmosphere. Despite the coldness of nights inside the Nevada desert, it still fell short compared to the temperature of the Himalayas. Almost as if on cue of his sneeze, a fly, buzzing with its rapidly beating wings, suddenly appeared in front of him, bumping against his face before flying circles around his head.

As he sneezed a second time, Soul felt annoyance well up in him and his hands went smacking about at the fly. It was difficult business, trying to nail the fly, for Soul's eyes could barely keep up with it with all his incessant sneezing and the aches from Odahving's blows hindered his cognition. The final obstacle was when the windows of his room suddenly swung open, allowing in a trespassing gale that set Soul's hairs on frozen ends, followed by another barely contained sneeze.

"Goddamn it! What I would give for a tiny amount of heat!" Soul complained as he rushed forward from his position against the door to close the window, his breath condensing to form brief white mists as he ran. Shivers ran down his arms on the instant his hands touched the metallic frames and Soul's teeth chattered against each other by the time he closed the window shut, his hands quickly rubbing against each other for warmth.

Soul's entire body was now shivering non-stop, the temperature in his room having dropped several degrees, and his head ached as if someone had placed a weight on top of it, the unfortunate side-effect of a brain-freeze. Imagine his sighs of relief when he heard the tiny crackle of a small fire and its accompanying heat ridding him of some of the cold. "Ah...that's great. Thank you." Soul turned, a content smile ready to be flashed towards Maka, who had most likely noticed him suffering the cold just now. Or had she?

"Thank you ver- Ach!" Soul jumped mid-thanks when he finally met eye-to-eye with the fire-starter. Maka had beautiful green eyes, like little emeralds glittering in the light; they never ceased to take Soul's breath away.

But this time, Soul sucked in his breath as the yellow pupils stared back at his own blood red ones. There was nothing normal, nothing even human about those eyes. The yellow was a tainted one, with a sickly hue and a dullness that should only come with death. Worse was the sclera, the area surrounding the pupils; instead of a normal white, they were black, deep dark black, as if you were looking down at the bottom of a bottomless pit. Multiple lumps now up his throat, Soul barely croaked with fear as he jumped back. However, he had put too much strength into his jump and his back hit painfully against the wall behind him, causing Soul to let go of his sucked-in breath as he slumped down onto the floor. Thankfully he had just missed the windows; else he would be falling right now into the cold wind. Yet, somehow Soul found his mind cursing the fact that he had missed it, for he was now stuck with the tall black clothed figure in his own bedroom. Not cool.

His vision shaking as he looked up, Soul nervously scanned the tall man. Besides his horrible eyes, the man's skin was a zombie-like pale, even paler than Soul's own, and his face was gaunt, the flesh beneath it almost non-existent. Heavy, covering garb shrouded the man's upper body in black, consisting of a trenchcoat, its hood up around its owner's head, a grey sweater beneath with a skull picture which bore an uncanny similarity to Death's ancient mask, with the exception that the colours had been switched, with black bone and white eyes.

However, below, instead of jeans or pants, a large belt levitated around the man's waist and below its circumference, billowing smoke and dark tendrils hid even his feet, making the man's strides look like he was floating in mid-air, with only the rare showing of skin indicating that the man still had a lower body. Last but not least, the coffin tied to the man's back cast a dark shadow over the shivering Soul, its presence almost instilling a homely aura to him. As if the coffin was his home.

"W-Who are you? Why are you..." Soul's questions trailed off when he saw the tiny green-black fire, burning on the man's cheek. Yet it was not the man's skin and flesh being burnt but something else, a little black, almost indiscernible lump that was degrading away under the flames. It was the size of a small housefly.

All of a sudden, Soul's vision blackened and before he could react or utter a word, Soul found himself watching a little vision, his body minus his eyes cut off from his senses.

At first, the camera, or whatever was recording the vision, was all focused on the fly, as its body, bulbous due to it being zoomed in on, zipped and weaved through Soul's room, unaffected by the cold winds. The buzz almost sounded happy, as if it was having the time of its life, annoying a little white-haired boy who was trying his best to control his sneezing and close shut the windows. A few moments later, the perspective abruptly zoomed out and the fly was st ill there, centimeters away from a familiar pale cheek. Its buzz seemed to have increased in excitement and Soul could somehow feel that the fly was readying itself to bump against this new person's face, just like it had done with the boy a minute ago. So it did and the buzz was cut short. Out of nowhere, the fly stayed still, dead still on the cheek, its wings drooped and unmoving, its legs still like the lifeless legs of a statue. As the vision begun to fade to black, the last sight Soul saw of it was the fly bursting into hellfire.

"G-go...go...go away..." Soul stammered as he tried to crawl away from the man, whose face remained expressionless but his eyes kept trained on Soul. Soul found himself hyperventilating when he found his back against the wall and in desperation, his arm went for the window, an attempt at escape. When his hand touched the handle, Soul felt his mind scream and his mouth opened to do so but his voice supernaturally silent. It was cold, so cold that it was burning his hand right now!

Soul grunted as he struggled to remove his hand away, his eyes widening at the sight of the bar-shaped imprint on his hand and widening even more when the imprint vanished an eye-blink later. What is happening? Is he going mad?

"Kyoki? Iie iie, anata wa watashi no eikyō o ukete imasu. Anata no seide wa arimasen." Soul gasped when the man suddenly spoke to him in a strange, foreign language, his face still without emotion. Soul could not understand what the man said, yet somehow Soul could feel that the man was referring to his thoughts. No, impossible. How can the man know his thoughts? Seeing no other way out, Soul clenched his fist as he tried to bring up as much bravura he could find inside of him, his left arm transforming into his scythe blade. For a moment, Soul did stand up, pointing his shivering blade half-threateningly at the watching trespasser but all it took was a raised eyebrow and Soul's 'bravery' disintegrated into little fragments, the boy's knee giving way under him as he slumped down onto the ground.

"Why...why are you here?" Soul asked, his voice trembling in fear.

"Anata no heddo bando o hitsuyō to shite imasu." As expected, Soul did not even understand an inkling of what he said but when the word 'heddo' came to his ears, Soul's mind instantly interpreted it as...

Head.

"Go away..."

The man ignored Soul's pleas, taking a small step forward towards him.

"Go away. Please."

The stride got a little wider and the deathly sound of grating chains snuffed the distant howl of the wind outside. The man's hand began to stretch out.

"I don't know what you want but please go AWAY!"

Soul was petrified with fear, every tendon and muscle within him refusing to move before the deathly advance of the figure, whose arm was now fully stretched out, reaching towards Soul's face. Images of the fly burning, incinerating at the touch of the man's dead skin flashed through Soul's mind and almost immediately after, his entire vision was filled with the nearing palm, palm with that exact same deadly skin. In his mind, the vision that used to be the fly burning into ash now morphed into his face and his head with green fire pouring out all over it, burning away his skin, chewing through his muscles and finally melting his bones into crisp black powder, before that too was reduced to nothing. Soul saw all that a thousand times over. All this blew craters into Soul's mind, shaking him over the edge, and the boy gave one final howl of unbridled terror as the cold hand wrapped around his face.

Death at a touch.

"GO AWAY!"

* * *

><p><strong>0.000000000 seconds later...<strong>

"GO AWAY!"

"SOUL!" Crash! The bedroom door finally broke off its hinges and slammed against the ground, as the battering Black Star smashed into the scene like the big damn hero he is, giving his signature "BLACK STAR IS HERE!". Close behind the roaring ninja, Maka hurriedly ran up, worry and fear brim on her face, with Tsubaki not too far behind her. Crona, with Ragnorok watching over his head, came in last with a disturbed frown, looking around the room for signs of the enemy. Yet there was none. No one except for a hysterical Soul, whose hands were clasping around his face, feeling for a non-existent injury.

"HELP ME! HELP ME! GO AWAY!"

"Soul! I'm here." Maka shouted to the struggling Soul as the two girls tried to hold the struggling Soul down, with Maka making sure that she was safe from the dangerously close scythe blade. "It's me, Maka. It will be okay." Maka whispered soothingly into Soul's ear, trying to keep him calm. Eventually, Soul's breath slowed to normal and the scythe blade finally glowed and reverted back into his trembling arm. Widened frightened eyes were now softening into a calm, even closing as Soul fell into an exhausted sleep, with Maka giving a brief gasp of worry while Tsubaki assured her that Soul will be fine. In the end, Maka gave a smile of relief, as she allowed Soul to sleep on her lap

At the same time, Black Star and Crona were searching the room for possibility of a hidden enemy. Once again, they found none, with Black Star shrugging his shoulders, but his face still unnerved at the possible things that could have freaked out Soul so badly. Crona was much calmer, his dull green eyes still searching alertly for whoever had done it.

Yet, despite their vigilance, Crona's eyes, along with everyone else's, did not seem to notice the small difference with Soul's head.

Neither did they notice the figure watching them through the window from the roof across the road. Deciding that he had not been seen by the four, Thanatos gave a small smile as he turned and walked away, his pale hand of death holding tightly onto Soul's brightly coloured headband.

**Hope you guys like this appearance of Thanatos. Thanks to all those who reviewed. Your reviews are what keep me motivated.**

**Also thanks to Spartan for your great characters for Order and thanks to LOW59 for your following. I really appreciate it.**


	94. Odahving Chapter 42

"That's as far as you go with that!"

"Hmm?" As he was about to launch off from the flat roof to next, Thanatos paused at the sound of the indignant voice, a small smile creeping up his face when he recognized the owner. Turning his head, Thanatos retained his miniature smirk as his alien-like eyes looked towards the silver-haired Weapon he had fought before the teleportation, the boy displaying the same expression of anger that Thanatos remembered. His eyes continued on, this time moving towards a tall bulky boy with short chocolate-brown hair standing at the previous boy's right. This one, despite his muscular physique, did not exude as much as authority as the angry one, his face instead more passive and maybe bordering on the edge of fear. Thanatos gave a little frown, a sensation prodding at the back of his head. Where did he see this one? Ah yes, back at the medical room, with that little pig-tailed girl. Fair enough. Thanatos' eyes moved again and glanced towards the punk-looking kid on the left, who possessed an aura of more of independence than leadership. That one was definitely new to him; Thanatos can see it in his eyes, all wide and surprised, as if the little kid did not believe about Thanatos' existence until now. Even if they never met before, Thanatos still felt his coffin shaking. This one is important as well. Finally, his preliminary scan done and satisfied with his information, Thanatos laid his eyes back on Xeal, whose scowl deepened at the sight of the man seemingly gauging them. "Omoshiroi." Thanatos muttered under his breath as he turned his full body, facing towards the standing trio. His smirk still on, Thanatos smoothed his chin as he allowed the band to rest on his other open palm, allowing its pale beige cloth, decorated with a label with Soul's name and a round sticker of a red-lipped mouth with pointed fangs, to be clearly seen by the confronters. "Hijō ni omoshiroi."

While Akira and Fritz both shared confused stares, Xeal did not relent, his index finger pointing accusingly towards Thanatos. "Like I said, cut the Japanese crap. You have clearly understood what I said. Speak some damn English, Mr. Coffin!"

At that moment, Thanatos lost his smirk, the expression readily replaced with a blank yet dark face. His voice, when came out, was not at all pleased. "Misuta. Coffinu? Sono namae no don'nadesu ka?" Thanatos pointed towards the jet-black coffin on his back, his thumb thumping against the hardwood as he continued. "Kore no 'Coffinu' wa namae o motte imasu. Sore wa Izanami. Tekisetsuna k- show the proper respect."

Feeling a little insulted for being called to give some respect, Xeal was about to return a merciless rebuttal before the obvious hit him in the face, leaving the boy to pause shocked at the revelation. "Huh? I understood you...Did you just spoke English?"

"Wait a minute, he spoke English? Xeal, are you deaf?" Xeal gasped in disbelief when Akira intercepted his questions, the Demon motorcycle giving an incredulous look to him. "He was speaking to us just fine, I mean, Japanese fine. Nothing's changed! I still cannot understand him!"

At first, Xeal thought that Akira had gone bonkers. After all, Thanatos had clearly spoken English. That was until Fritz spoke to him as well. "Akira's right." Xeal's shock grew at Fritz's agreement. "I still cannot make out what he is saying."

"I'm telling you!" Xeal, unable to believe that he alone could understand what was clearly English, felt annoyance and anger boil up inside of him. They better not be pulling his leg. "He spoke and I understood! And I don't take Japanese classes. The only language that I can understand is ENGLISH! THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD-"

"English and Death." Xeal stopped mid-shout, his tides of rage halted by his wall of stupefaction. English. That was definitely English.

Thanatos shook his head knowingly. As if he had read Xeal's mind and was responding appropriately. "No, that was Death taking on the language you are most familiar with. It took a little longer than expected but it looks like that language barrier is finally down."

This time, Fritz gasped. "Akira, Xeal. I think he just spoke German."

"Oh, not you too! German? Fritz, you are speaking German! I barely understood anything you said other than the word 'German' itself!" Xeal's brows furrowed in confusion. German? Fritz was clearly speaking in English just now. "And that bloody man is still conversing in his Japanese. Are you two screwed in your heads?"

Wait a minute, Xeal thought, giving himself time to pause. If this language of Death was real, then it was logical for Fritz to hear things in German. It was after all his native language, with him being from Germany and all. Yet, if that was true, then why could he understand him? Magic? In words and languages? Things just got a lot more complex, especially with Akira, as Xeal observed the confused boy fretting about, clearly being left out of the conversation. However, since Fritz clearly understood and Xeal himself could comprehend, both after prolonged exposure to Thanatos, Akira must be able to learn how to interpret the language with time, as long as he remains non-disruptive to the conversation. "Akira..._calm_... down." Xeal could feel his voice shiver when he emphasized on the word 'calm', his short-fused personality never looking at the notion of calmness in a positive light. This was clearly noticed by Akira, who blinked once or twice in disbelief before hurriedly standing still like a toy soldier at a glimpse of Xeal's glare. Still, Xeal knew that it must be done, if Akira was to stay relevant to the official business at hand.

Right, back to official business. "Okay, Mr. Coffin! I'm done playing games! Either you give me Soul's headband and give yourself up quietly or I will be obliged to use the necessary force to bring you in. Your choice." Xeal shouted in as powerful as a voice as he could, hoping that he could intimidate the man into surrendering. Yet...why does he get the feeling that despite their numerical advantage, it will not be so easy taking Mr. Coffin down if he refused to give himself up. Somehow, Xeal felt less safer having Fritz and Akira at his sides, his hairs unusually standing on ends as Mr. Coffin gave a quizzical tilt of his head, no doubt contemplating whether or not to surrender. Why? Why does he feel at such unease? The last time they fought at the alleyway, Xeal remembered himself having easily trounced the pale coffin-carrier.

_Flashback started_

_"I'm sorry, buddy. But Japanese just made onto my top ten list of objects to destroy." Xeal smiled. In response, the being seemed to be sighing in disappointment. "Gomenasai..."_

_Xeal did not take any chances and with a loud rageful battlecry, the two-star meister shot forward towards the waiting dark-clothed man, who held his black chipped two-handed sword on guard. "Too slow!" was what Xeal taunted as he dived under the carelessly-made side slash of the black blade, his own flat-tipped great sword, its intricate blade lined with its signature runes, being swung in retaliation at the man's body, its slicing speed incredible even though it was only being held by his right arm. Mr. Coffin barely gave a sound as his black multiple-strapped combat boots pushed off the ground, launching him over the runed blade as its force sliced through the alley wall behind him, leaving a deep line streaked across it._

_Grunting with anger, Xeal stepped to the side when a dark shadow washed over him, allowing the airborne Mr. Coffin to smash the ground Xeal was standing on a moment ago with the flat of his blade. Undeterred by his miss, Thanatos spun back; giving a slow upward slash towards Xeal's left shoulder as he rounded about. As Xeal easily dodged it due to the lack of his left arm, he swung his blade down towards Thanatos, aiming for a killing blow on Thanatos' forehead. At the same time, Thanatos brought his blade back and proceeded to repeat his previous slash, this time allowing the blade to reach for Xeal's chin. The two blades, contrasting each other with Thanatos' rusting twohander and Xeal's pristine great sword, inevitably clash, giving a loud sharp ring through the air as sparks lit up the dark alley space. Thanatos' eyes widened a little when he saw Xeal's sword moving faster than his and his head barely tilted to the side; a burst of stinging pain swallowed the left side of his face as his left cheek received a long blood-red cut. Seeing his target cut, Xeal sported a triumphant smile and shifted his body back, allowing the slower black blade to miss his neck and cheek by inches, leaving him uninjured._

"_Omoshiroi." Xeal heard Thanatos mutter under his breath as the dark-clothed stranger jumped back, deeper into the murky depths of the alley, his black clothes almost allowing the figure to become a silhouette against the darkness. 'Camouflage?' Xeal wondered. Not that it will not do him much good_

"_Cowardice ain't gonna help you!" Xeal roared as his right arm begin to twist and spin his great-blade arm around and around in a circle above his head. At first, all one could see was Xeal standing on guard with a silvery-white disk spinning above his head but as time progressed and the spinning intensified, the disk begin to glow a bright blue, before Xeal finally stopped spinning, slamming his great-sword onto the ground, prompting the glowing blue runes on its blade to shine magnificently. As the shadows of the alleyway receded away in fright of the blue magical light, Thanatos remained unperturbed by the loss of his dark cover. Instead, his face was that of a minor surprise, which Xeal accepted was pretty much expected. After all, the fact that Xeal was a Wizard and a Weapon at the same time was not something that was commonly known. Xeal almost felt relief wash over him as he allowed the ever-flowing stream of Wizard Magic leak out of the holes in his Soul Protect and into his veins, filling his blood with blissful strength._

_Yet, Xeal felt a sense of disgust well up inside him, a side-effect of allowing the small magical power portion to leak out of his Soul Protect. Wizards are the opposite and more powerful versions of Witches. Where the Witches thrived in destruction and war, the Wizards live more for the sake of peace, serenity and creation. And guess what? Even though they are known to wield copious amounts of combat prowess, fighting is just not their favorite thing, a fact that made itself clear as Xeal shifted uneasily under the burden of his nature and his personality conflicting against one another. Even the runes on his blade were in turmoil, with their alien shapes shifting between that of a European dragon and just plain runes._

"_As if I will let myself be forced into a life full of sucky peace!" Xeal gritted his teeth and ignored his headache as he pushed off the ground, appearing above of the watching Thanatos in a second, his blade brought up to slash downwards at his target. Ensuring that not too much Magic was let out to prevent any meisters around from detecting his powers, Xeal Dragomir numbed his inherent disgust with adrenaline rushing through his veins as he gave a giant roar, his open mouth revealing his too-long-to-be-human canines, and his sole arm pulling his great-blade diagonally down towards the watching Thanatos. 'I win,' Xeal thought with a grin as he saw the man trying to step away, his dodge however too slow to be successful._

_BOOM! As the great-blade touched the tiled ground, a colossal sphere of force was released, its advancing surface bordered by an equally expanding wave of blue fire. The alleyway's walls bent in against the force, with bricks and concrete flying out in the direction of the wave. The roofs of nearby houses were stripped of a few of their overlapping tiles while the houses that were even closer had most of their tiles gone and their windows shattered as well. One of the nearest houses even had all of its roof tiles thrown off, exposing the entire wooden surface of the roof to the wave of fire, causing it to be alighted in flames. Finally, nearest to Xeal's line of sight, a diagonal line of blood spurted out into the air, the red liquid pouring in inhuman amounts out of the diagonal long deep cut that Thanatos had received across his chest. It was the finishing blow. 'Such a fatal cut must be the finishing blow,' Xeal suddenly thought in surprise as he realized that Thanatos was still standing steadily. And raising his black blade over his head, his face with a menacing smile._

"_Not going to work!" Xeal roared as he swung his sword, hitting the side of Thanatos with the flat of his blade. Spinning around on the ball of his feet, Xeal kept up his cry of war as his enhanced strength pulled Thanatos around him, pushing the man out of the alleyway and into the sun, smashing down onto the ground in the creation of a crater. Almost before he flew off Xeal's blade however, Thanatos allowed his sword to come down at Xeal, much to Xeal's surprise then and forcing the boy to slightly shift to avoid the tip from reaching his face. Despite his dodge however, Xeal scowled at the rising man as he ruffled his fringe and his hand returned back to reveal a few silver strands in his hand, cut off by Thanatos' sword._

_His anger now rising to new levels at the near-injury, Xeal's eyes narrowed to a death-glare at the dark man and the boy, empowered by his Wizard Magic, felt ready to release his Soul Protect and obliterate Thanatos into dust, ignoring the consequences of such an action. Yet, just as Xeal was about to give a command, the familiar pink pillar of Cyril's Gakudan rising and swirling into the dark sky stunned Xeal to a gasp, his ears relishing in its incredible orchestra. Its subsequent conversion to simple weak glass by Odahving absorbing all of its power before collapsing left Xeal speechless. Tremors of the ground unsteadied his footing and Xeal frowned at Thanatos as he stumbled. Somehow, Thanatos did not seem to mind the quakes, the intruder standing in the smoldering crater in complete comfort. _

_For a moment, the boastful display of comfort by Thanatos struck a nerve in Xeal and blood boiled within him as he took a step forward, his blade glowing furiously to give another strike. However, Xeal's anger was once again blunted by the scream of Cyril and worry and despair took prominence in his head. What is happening there?_

_Flashback ended_

**Sorry if this was rushed out but right now I will have to submit this chapter before I have to leave. Sorry guys, but after my exams, I have to go for a school trip to Mongolia and I will be gone for 18 days until 10 August 2012, so I will not be able to update this story during then. Even so, please do read and review this chapter and when I return, I will make sure that you guys will receive your regular updates. **

**Thank you in advance for your patience and goodbye!**


	95. Odahving Chapter 43

Xeal hurriedly shook himself out of the memory. He already knew what had happened at Cyril's place. The only problem is this sense of unease pressing onto him, piercing his veins like acupuncture needles. No such thing had been felt when he last clashed with Thanatos. Why now?

"It is not your fault to become nervous about something you cannot comprehend. It is the same for me being unable to understand why there still exists in this world a child with secrets such as yours. Surely that display you gave me before must have been a mistake." Gloved hand brushing over his chin, Thanatos coolly remarked, deliberately giving little care to the sensitive words that he had let slip. It worked, for at that moment, Xeal could feel the cogwheels in his mind rev up into high gear and his left arm began to glow in its white sheen of transformation, giving off sporadic bursts of excessive light as a sign of Xeal's increasing desire for violence. The two-star meister might have very well charged forth roaring was it not for a large hand grabbing him by the shoulder.

Fritz's face was that of worry, his brows furrowed as he restrained the teeth-gritting Xeal. "Xeal! Keep your calm! He's just goading you on! You don't need to listen to his taunts!" As Fritz spoke to Xeal, Xeal realized that the words he was hearing from Fritz somehow don't fit with the movements of his mouth. For a split second, Xeal thought back to Akira's exclamation, about how Fritz was suddenly speaking in German. Maybe Akira was right. Which made absolutely no coherence with the fact that Xeal could understand.

'Language of Death, my ass!' Xeal thought as he refocused his attention upon the source of all this trouble. Thanatos stood there, his stance relaxed, apparently showing no desire to give in both himself and the headband held firmly in his hand. In the back of his head, Xeal felt a little prodding - whether from his Wizard tendencies or his plain instincts, he did not know- telling him to back down from Thanatos and focus on something else more important at the moment. But what?

Realising what he was thinking, Xeal furiously shook his head, banishing the prodding away into the recesses of his mind. It was nothing. Nothing is more important than the official dealing of Thanatos. "That's right...," Xeal assured himself in a soft voice. "Nothing at all..." His will re-affirmed, Xeal grunted as his right hand grabbed the wrist of his glowing left and pulled out the runed flat-ended greatsword that made up his arsenal in a scattering of light. "There is nothing more important than to deal with you, THANATOS!"

Before the gasping Fritz and Akira could respond, they were stopped by Xeal's commanding tone. "Back me up!" "No! Wai-" Fritz's words were lost by Xeal as he disappeared from his spot, charging as a silver blur towards the smiling Thanatos.

"Interesting..." Thanatos murmured under his breath as he extended out his gloved hand, just as the huge blade came swinging horizontally, right into the hand's grasp. Crack! The back of Thanatos' feet drove dents into the roof under the force of the swing but his arm remained relaxed against the blade, much to the surprise of his attacker. Recovering quickly, Xeal did not give up as his left leg pivoted about mid-air, allowing his combat boot to head straight for Thanatos' left cheek. As his boot drew dangerously closer to its target, Xeal noticed Thanatos' eyes slowly turning to regard the threat but it was already too close to dodge. 'I've got him!' Xeal thought as he pressed in, hearing a satisfying crunch when leather rammed skin.

Falling back onto his feet, Xeal smiled as he looked over his shoulder to see Thanatos' head whipped back from the force. No shout or yell of pain was given but Xeal bet that the man had to be reeling from the kick. Wait till he gets a load of this. "Fritz! Now!" Xeal commanded as he rolled away, just in time for the tip of a large gun barrel to descend from above, aiming point-blank into Thanatos' chest. Eyes widened in surprise, Thanatos gazed down its length towards the cannon's large cruciform carriage, with four rectangular legs pressing cracks into the roof with the flak gun's weight. A moment later, Thanatos gasped at the sight of the translucent image of a solemn Fritz on the reflective surface of the gun barrel, just as a glow begin to appear from deep down within it.

"Oi oi...You can hurt somebody with that..." Thanatos murmured under his breath as he sluggishly recovered from Xeal's previous kick, only to be engulfed in a bright orange flash.

BOOM! As it was released, a bullet, easily the size of a man's head, zipped through the air, surrounded and leaving behind shrouds and trails of orange soul. Rising into the air, the round sailed harmlessly over the roof of Maka's apartment, heading straight up towards the air as it cleared Death City, exploding into a medium-sized blast eventually when it had outlasted its range, which was easily several kilometers. However, while the blast and the bullet had not damaged anything excessively, the portion of roof that Thanatos had been standing on was all but obliterated, rubble dotting it all around. The amount of roof removed was so much that Fritz wondered if he had been a fraction of a degree lower in his firing angle, he might have destroyed the roof completely and damage the house itself. 'Thankfully it had not come to that,' Fritz assured himself as he gazed into the obscuring plumes of smoke and dust, along with Xeal and Akira, both of whom remain in their pseudo-weapon forms. All of them knew too well whose house they were standing on and if she were to find that they had did battle on her own home, they would be in for a serious beating from her.

"He should not have survived that. I mean, c'mon, the guy just took an 88 millimeter round to the face. Right, guys?" Akira tried to joke sheepishly but instead received a harsh glare from Xeal.

"If I were to tell you Fritz shot at Lord Shinigami with an 88 millimeter round to the face, would you have believed that he had died?" Xeal asked rhetorically as he shifted closer towards the smoke, runed great sword gripped tight in hand. "We cannot assume anything about this guy."

"Xeal, I don't sense any killer intent in front of us. He's probably gone, dead or alive," Fritz remarked sadly. "We should go back, Xeal."

At first, Xeal opened his mouth to retort. However, he paused before spoke, giving some serious thought. Indeed Fritz was right. There was not a bit of murderous combat aura in the atmosphere and any sign of Thanatos' soul was, well, gone, like always. Indeed all the signs pointed towards Thanatos being blown away by Fritz's blast and thus it was this collection of signs that finally made Xeal grant Fritz an affirmative nod. "I guess you're right. Let's just get the headband back and get out of here." Xeal agreed as he allowed his sword to hang at his side, still hesitant to put it back.

In contrast, Akira had already morphed back into his human form, giving out a light-hearted smile, as expected from the guy who had not done a single bit of combat just now. "Now that we are done with this Mr. Coffin business, how about we go to Chupa Cabra's for some fine treatment?" Akira drooled as he delved into his own perverted fantasy, hot red blushes running across his cheeks during his euphoria. "My treat!"

"Go to hell."

"I think I will pass. Sorry, Toya."

"A cabaret club huh? I guess it would be nice to go to a cabaret club once in a thousand years."

"WHAT!?" As the trio tried to quickly get up and fight back, all three of them involuntarily barreled over as they were pushed back by a huge shockwave, invisible to the naked eye but manifesting in the mind as resounding roars of anger, overlapping continuously to form a mind-ripping cacophony of howling voices. And the origin was Thanatos, who was casually brushing the dust of his cloak, completely unscathed. There was not a single hint of exertion from the mysterious man, who fired off shockwave after shockwave with motions as light as a simple hand-wave.

Trying to shut the force's mental power out of his head, Xeal used his sword to steady himself back up but to no avail. Another shockwave came raging through and the boy was flung back once more, this time crashing into the wall that marked the edge of the roof. The metallic taste of blood stinging his tongue, Xeal cringed as he brutally slammed into the concrete repeatedly by unceasingly waves of killer intent. For what felt an eternity in the barrage, Xeal could finally feel the edges of his consciousness slipping away. Darkness edged his vision as he tried to raise his arm against the force, his mind on the very verge of blacking out.

At that very moment just before he should have lost his will to fight, the waves abruptly stopped, leaving behind a stark serenity. The damage was done though. Bruises dotted Xeal's entire body like a swarm of leeches. Excruciating pain ran through every nerve like an army of fire ants. When he tried to cough out blood accumulated in his mouth, Xeal felt his throat burn intensely. His jaw was also slackened, too tired to even close his mouth. As his neck muscles strain to make his face look up, Xeal's eyes smarted with each blink, making his already disorientated vision worse. Only a blurry image of the approaching Thanatos could be recognized. Two more murky silhouettes could be seen lying motionless on the floor, both breathing in ragged heavy breaths, but Xeal could not distinguish who was Fritz and who was Akira.

So easily. The tables were turned so easily.

"But I guess you guys are too preoccupied trying to beat me. That's sad. I was hoping one of you could introduce me to a few gentle ladies. It would take my mind off the stress," Thanatos coldly said – more like mocked, Xeal thought - his weird alien-like eyes glaring at Xeal with drilling intensity. The man then kneeled down, such that he was level with Xeal's seating body. "Stress that you are giving me in spades. Do you know that?"

"What are you going to do about it then?" Xeal sneered weakly. With a pout, Xeal defiantly spat blood into Thanatos' face, the red liquid leaving streaks onto the pale skin. In an instant, Xeal felt something driving into his stomach and he gave out a yell of pain as Thanatos' vein-ridden fist mercilessly met its target. On the very fringe of blacking out, Xeal felt his body naturally relax as it fell back into the wall, only to be jolted out of his semi-conscious stupor by a gloved hand grabbing him up by the collar.

"Even now you continue to throw more stress onto me. Tell me child, are you that daft?" Thanatos scolded, his tone sounding unusual due to his almost perpetual lack of emotion.

"No...," Xeal responded in a rasping voice, his eyelids twitching to stay open. His near-slipping grip on the runed blade tried to tighten and the level of his effort could be seen from the blade's vibration, its metal clattering against the concrete floor. His voice was nearly fading, now soft enough to force Thanatos to lean in closer to hear. "I...cannot...simply allow you..."

The blade's shaking stopped.

"TO ROAM AROUND FREELY!" Xeal roared with unleashed resolve, lifting his sword high above his head, much to Thanatos' surprise. As he tried to leap back, Thanatos was suddenly stopped as he felt a tug on his ear and his eyes moved from the sword to the enraged face of Xeal before him, his teeth determinedly sinking into his ear, his voice nearly bursting his eardrums. "THAKE THIS!" Xeal shouted between his teeth, almost like a feral beast. Giving a garbled battle cry, Xeal ignored the pain streaming through his arm and sliced down at Thanatos.

Without a sign of pain from his bitten ear, Thanatos maintained a tight face as his arm shot up, its open palm halting the sword in its tracks just like before. "A good trick, but not good enou-"

"FRITZ! AKIRA! IT'S UP TO YOU!" Thanatos' eyes briefly widened at the mention of names, as he instinctively looked behind. At first, the smoke obscured everything a few inches in front of him but when his eyes adjusted, Thanatos spotted two shadows, both getting bigger as they headed straight for him.

Trying to keep his cool, Thanatos frowned in focus as a cloud of smoke extended out from the main plume from Thanatos' left, parting open to reveal the stout figure of Fritz, his forearm this time transformed into a sort of arm-cannon, of equal design and material to his full form. Already, an orange glow could be seen from within the barrel, the cannon nearly ready to fire.

"Waffe!" Fritz shouted as he thrust his arm cannon out, just as the glow had gotten fully intense. Obviously, he was going to fire it point-blank in Thanatos' face.

"Useless!" Thanatos mocked, raising his unoccupied hand out. With a speed never seen before, the black blade of Izanagi flew to his other arm. Undeterred by the lack of another arm for a stronger strike, Thanatos tightened his face as he thrust out the tip at Fritz, aiming it particularly for the joint between Fritz's arm and shoulder-blade. If it hit home, it would have easily severed Fritz's arm right off. A sever that Thanatos was confident would occur, as the tip, a black light in the gray smog, neared its target. 'I've got you...'

All of a sudden, Thanatos' vision suddenly jerked involuntarily and shaken by his sudden movement and disorientation, the blade barely scrapped Fritz's shoulder, cutting only his shirt and nothing more. "Damn you!" Thanatos muttered in exasperation. Feeling the force on his ear being stronger than before, Thanatos instantly realized what had happened.

His teeth's grip on Thanatos relentless, Xeal cried as he pulled the man even more down, resulting in the blade now completely lifting off Fritz's shoulder. His obstacle gone, Fritz yelled as his arm-cannon burst with destructive energy, the punch/slash getting closer to Thanatos' face. Recovering as fast as he could, Thanatos hastily shot up his left leg, his foot deflecting the cannon upwards, just when it released its shot.

Another 'powerful' BOOM smothered the air and out from the cannon flew off a small energy bolt, a mass of soul wavelength made so dense that it was opaque enough to be still seen against the sky it shot harmlessly up towards. Even though Fritz's arm cannon was struggling to push Thanatos' left leg down, it seems that he had failed. Now on to the next one. Thanatos, calm once again, turned to look at his right...

"TOO SLOW, DEAD DUDE!" Thanatos' mouth partly gaped at the blur of a Demon Motorcycle right in front of him, his speed leaving behind illusionary trails of neon-blue light. No, ignore the light. Thanatos told himself desperately as he spotted Akira's transformed leg, sleek and silvery-blue with spinning hollow cylinders, or rather very simple wheels, connected to its back. It was just finishing the cycle-procedure of a round house, calculated by Thanatos to be targeted at his head.

Typical. Keeping his wits on edge, Thanatos stabbed Izanagi into the roof floor, balancing his entire body on it with only his grip, just in time to allow his right leg to intercept Akira's roundhouse kick. At the advent of the clash, the impact created a forceful gale that slammed into Thanatos' chest but he held on tightly even as he focused on preventing all three attacks of the trio from coming down, along with the added irritation of teeth on his ear.

At first, it felt like he was being compressed from all sides prompting Thanatos to wonder briefly where the three had gotten theirsudden strength from. However, their newfound energy, though immense, did not last long. For by the tenth second of the power stand-off, Thanatos could feel relief in his arms and legs and a second later, he was slowly pushing the guys back away from him, despite how much effort they had added against him. Assured of his victory, the corners of the man's mouth tilted up slightly in an extremely rare grin. Against the backdrop of the rising grunts and growls of the trio trying to press him down, Thanatos' voice held the tiniest tinge of triumphant glee.

"I win."

* * *

><p>BOOOM!<p>

"What was that?!" Black Star exclaimed in shock as the whistling sound of an orange cannon bullet sailing over their head echoed in the living room, where the group was seated around. As for Soul, who had been in shock, he was lying unconscious on the couch, his head rested peacefully on Maka's lap, as she looked up towards the ceiling in concern. The explosion, or whatever it was, was close. Extremely close.

"Waah! Why is rubble falling down around us?!" The high-pitched voice of chibi-Ragnarok squealed as everyone minus Maka looked out of the window he was watching. Sure enough, rubble, coated in smoke and sand, was raining down from above and when they all looked up, they could see a giant pillar of soot obscuring what seems to be the destroyed edge of the roof. For a while, as they watched the pillar disperse in the Himalayan winds, suspenseful silence followed, momentarily broken by the chatter of three people up there. It seemed, for a moment, that whatever had happened was over.

Crona was the first to realize the uneasy feeling in his gut. "Get back!" Crona yelled as he hurriedly shoved everyone away from the window. Surprised by his actions, everyone stared at Crona with questioning eyes as they waited for something bad to happen. Yet, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen, minus the sudden jittering of Soul's body, as if he was responding to something familiar. Despite the normality, everyone did not dare move a step forward, for they had Crona's same feeling as well. That just a few centimetres in front of them, the boundary to hell was waiting. None of them knew it but Thanatos' killer intent had very nearly punished them, just as it was punishing Xeal and company up on the roof.

Waiting was extremely painful with the mountain of fear placed on them but eventually their guts stopped throbbing, allowed the group to relax, if only for a short moment. "Someone's taking the spotlight from me! I've got to teach him a lesson." Cocky as ever, Black Star completely disregarded the feelings he had before, as he ran up towards the apartment door to rush out, eager for a fight with a "Yahoo!". "Black Star, wait!" Tsubaki, worried that Black Star might find trouble, attempted to chase up to him, nearly reaching him just when he opened the door.

In his mad rush however, Black Star could not stop himself fast enough to avoid the surprised Marie who was just standing outside. Before you can even say "Pervert!", Black Star found himself face-first into Marie's cleavage, just in time for the equally shocked Tsubaki to trap the 'poor' ninja's head in a cage of racks. For a few seconds, silence permeated the room as everyone looked on with jaws dropped, while the two women involved tried hard to comprehend the clump of blue hair stuck in between their chests.

Ragnarok could only shake his head with a sigh, breaking the silence. "That lucky bastard..."

In an author-initiated moment of complete auditory segregation, only the people in the room could hear the high-pitched screams of two embarrassed ladies immediately after. "AHHHHH!"

WHACK!

Ragnarok could only shake his head with a sigh, looking down at the blue-haired corpse twitching in the miniature crater of splintered wood. "That unlucky bastard..."

"You really are a hypocrite, Ragnorok," Crona chided his weapon as he walked around the crater towards Marie and Tsubaki, who were both retracting their fists back with tomato-red faces and heaving breaths.

"Marie-sensei, why are you here?" Crona asked his unexpected fellow Death Scythe, who took a moment to recover from her episode with a tidying of her dress and hair. Just as Marie was about to answer however, her eye noticed the prone form of Soul resting on Maka's lap, a beautiful serenity in the middle of the chaos. "Maka, is Soul alright?"

Looking concernedly at Soul for a moment, Maka's face remained creased with worry as she responded with a shake of her head. "If you are here to give us a mission, I don't think I and Soul would be able to go, not in the state he is now."

"Will he need a hospital?" Marie inquired, stepping closer to the phone in preparation.

"No thanks, Marie-sensei. He just needs some rest, that's all."

"I see." Marie thought for a while as she gazed at Soul with pained eyes, her fists clenching as if there was some internal dilemma within her. Then, with an equally pained voice, Marie revealed her reasons for coming here. "I'm sorry, Maka. But I don't think we can do without you for this mission. JB sent me to fetch all of you back to the Death Room for an extremely critical mission. We cannot risk any chance of failure, Maka, so we must bring Soul along. I know how much you worry for him but Soul will have to recover during preparation."

"Marie-sensei, I don't think..." Maka was about to respectfully object but Crona suddenly interrupted her with a much more logical question.

"Marie-sensei, we already have a mission so soon? Isn't the DWMA still trying to restart connections with the global network?"

"Yes we are, Crona. However, Shinigami-sama had, in his unconsciousness, granted us intelligence that would require immediate action. If not taken, JB says that we might as well have lost the world."

"Is it that serious, Marie-sensei?" Maka gasped as she heard the dense battle cry of Xeal tearing at the atmosphere, followed soon after by the whistling of an energy bolt charging up into the sky. Xeal Dragomir, the one who saved everyone when they were unconscious due to Odahving. He's fighting out there and from the resolve in his cry, he seemed to be fighting for his life. Maka still has to return the favour to him. "Marie-sensei, can we not at least help them up there?"

"No," Marie responded with uncharacteristic assertiveness, before reverting back to her sympathetic tone. "I apologize, Maka, but we really _have_ to go."

Seeing that Maka was still hesitant to comply, Crona walked up and gave an assuring hand on her shoulder. "Xeal knows how to take care of himself. He did not whack Black Star into the ground and into the air for nothing. If there is one thing I know about the Unusual and especially Xeal, they never give up."

"I...I...But...," Maka tried to protest again and again, failing each time at the beginning. Finally, she sighed resignedly with a reluctant nod of her head, her shaking hand ruffling through Soul's hair, as if their snow white strands would comfort her more. "Alright then, Marie-sensei," Maka finally agreed, prompting a grateful smile from her teacher, who approached to help Maka lift Soul out, while Crona and Tsubaki fcosued on the murmuring Black Star.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the medical room of the Death Weapon Meister Academy, a red-haired man laid unconscious in one of the starch white beds, with bandages all over his cuts and bruises. As the plastic interior of his respirator fogged up with each breath, the mouth of the man could be seen moving underneath and his voice, soft and weak, held an apologetic tone as it murmured. With every word, tears welled up in the man's closed eyes, rolling down to wet the sides of his head and in turn his pillow. "Maka...I'm so sorry that I could not help you...I...I...must save you..."<p>

As his hand rose up shakily in order to save what he dreamt was his daughter, someone sitting beside him, a woman donned in a white hooded cloak to be exact, clasped it gently, assuring softly to him that his daughter will be alright and that he need not worry. Finally, Spirit's murmuring came to a stop and his hand came back down to his side as he peacefully slept on. Giving a small smile, the woman looked at the Death Scythe with loving emerald green eyes, her hand ruffling through his hair affectionately.

* * *

><p>At the same time, sitting alone in the interrogation room, Cyril was half-asleep as she drowsily rested in her arms, waiting for the interrogator to come in and do the job. Just as Cyril was about to completely lull into full-fledged sleep, the metallic knob of the room door suddenly turned, the sudden sound shocking her awake.<p>

"I take it you are the interrogator?" Cyril frowned at the white-cloaked person who had entered through the door. "Or not?" Cyril's eyes narrowed at the sight of a blue-hot fireball floating in the stranger's hands.

* * *

><p>"Hey, who are you-" The guards paused in their movements once they took the step towards the white-cloaked man, inadvertently entering the sphere of frozen time around him. With a wave of both of his hands over their faces, the guards soon fell to the ground unconscious after they were released from time's frost. Gazing down towards the dark stairway leading down to the lonely flame of a lantern in the midst of eternal darkness, the man slowly threaded down the stairs, his eyes noting every detail of his surroundings, even how the darkness twisted and turned in his sphere of frozen time.<p>

His target was there; he was sure of it, as he felt the sphere fluctuating erratically. By the time he had reached the floor, the sphere had completely disappeared, his control over it simply overpowered by the being in here. Taking another step forward, the man nearly jumped when he hear the sound of metal beneath his white boot. When he removed his boot off, his white eyes opened at the revelation of a shattered chain link. In fact, after a bit more observation, the entire floor was scattered with such links, each remnants of chains that had simply disintegrated trying to hold down a god. A god who does not seem to be here.

"Ai yai yai." The man gasped when he heard the voice, which, echoing from every direction seemed to be omniscient. In this small chamber, due to the dense amount of darkness around, the man could not see where his target was. Then, when he turned another round to look, he was suddenly met with midnight black eyes, staring at him with fierce curiosity. Shocked by the sneak-up, the white-cloaked man leapt back with a high-pitched yelp, accidentally knocking himself into a stone wall. Rubbing the back of his head in pain, the man looked up towards the black-coated boy, who folded his arms across his chest, a look of disappointment on his face. Periodically the boy's right arm glowed, or more specifically the bones within, revealing the shape of the internal anatomy. It was obviously not human, but instead draconic.

"You could have at least set your entrance with a bit more grace. I mean, Jiji-san obviously sent you, right?" Alduin gave an exasperated sigh as he stepped up towards the stranger.

"For a member of Time's personal watchmen, you don't give a very good impression. Tell me, human, why did Jiji-san send in something as drastic as the Psijic Order for?"

**Hi guys, I'm finally back from Mongolia. Actually, I had been off to Mongolia for 18 days and thus I could not update. Now as you can see from here, a lot of things are happening and I know I am demanding a lot of Elder Scroll knowledge from you regarding the Psijic Order. So please be patient and I will try to make this easier for those unfamiliar with Elder Scrolls in the next update.**


	96. Extras: OC Situation Report

**Hi guys! Sorry for the late update but I have three new chapters ready to be put up. So basically I've realized that I have been having trouble keeping track of my tenants and furthermore decided that I need to set the types of OCs that I need for the book. To summarize, I am generally lacking in the evil areas and hope that you guys will be able to come up with them. What I will be adding here is a list of all the current characters and OCs in the story, along with potential ones that will appear later. Let's get started:**

**THIS CHAPTER WILL UNDERGO CHANGES OVER TIME.**

_**DWMA: **_

All of the original cast – Maka, Soul, Kid, Black Star etc. Semi-important teachers such as Sid are occasional.

Alduin - The main character/ anti-hero

_Unusuals _– A gang similar to Maka's group, although it is more made up of weapons and meisters with an unusual nature. _  
><em>Members:  
>Cyril Yiuta – Weapon of Sound<br>Xeal Dragomir (_From Spartan S-999_) – Half-Wizard Meister  
>Toya Akira (<em>From Despicable-D<em>) – Motorcycle  
>Friedrich Schmidt <em>(From Revenant) <em>– Flak Cannon  
>Jason Hutchkins<em>(From Colossal Fighter GX)<em> – Flat-line-Wavelength Meister

_Membership is open for new OCs. Around two to three more._

**To be revealed later:**

No Name – I really mean a guy with a name saying No Name.  
>Nobie.<br>Giriko – A bit of a surprise for you guys.  
>Dia Ren(From Noroit) – Due to her personality, undecided whether she should be a bad meister.<p>

**Psijic Order:**

Ignatius Mareflamme - Ex-Unusual and Current Head of Psijic Order of Earth  
>Kami Albarn - Maka's Mother<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Concepts:<strong>_

Time(AKA ancient man) – Concept of Time and Alduin's Grandfather**  
><strong>Chaos – Concept of Chaos and the Mad Destroyer.  
>Order – Concept of Order and the Benevolent Dictator.<p>

_Membership is open for new OCs. Two positions left._

**To be revealed later:**

Thanatos – Don't try to ask me about him. It's a secret.  
>*NEW* Wisdom<em>(From Despicable-D) - <em>Related to the book Time gave Alduin.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chaos Faction:<strong>_

Chaos Odahving  
>Albert Ein Stein (previously known as Doctor Franken Stein)<p>

_Membership is open for new OCs. Four more needed and also state their intended rivals. (Such as Odahving vs Alduin)_

**To be revealed later:**

*NEW* Dieter Schmidt_(From Revenant74) _- Yes, related to Friedrich Schmidt  
>*NEW* Brigadier<em>(From Spartan S-999) <em>_- _A semi-successful escaped experiment by the witches.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Order Faction:<strong>_

Paarthurnax  
>?(Unknown assassin)<p>

_Membership is open for new OCs. Unknown number._

**To be revealed later:**

Cawdor/Collin/Hrondil/Darc (_From Despicable-D_) - A weird dude of dudes from Skyrim  
>Tactical All-Purpose Soldier (TAPS) #50614 AKA "Kronos"<br>TAPS #50613 AKA "Ryu"  
>TAPS #50612 AKA "Heavy"<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>UnassignedCollateral Damage:**_

Felix White – 12 years old climber  
>Santosh – Felix's Nepalese guide<p>

**Elder Scrolls Characters:**

Tiberious 'Tiber' Secumulos _(By reven228)_ – Thieves' Guild Master. Sent by Nocturnal, one of the Daedric Princes, after stealing the Daedric artifacts.  
>Karata Kenji Sagark _(By Despicable-D) _– Vampire. Sent by other Daedric Princes. May also be at odds with Tiber for stealing the artifacts.  
>Kartonerone ShadowscalesKarto _(By Spartan S-999) _– Banished by Paarthurnax in the past. Currently in stasis. May have been awakened by Alduin's 'death'.

_Membership is open for new OCs._

**Possible Cameos:**

Beltza Heriotza  
>Zuri Heriotza (Beltza's 'father')<p>

**So that's it for now people! This will be updated regularly as I get more OCs and accept them into my story. Do not worry if I am taking a long time to put in your OC. I am simply finding for the right moment to reveal them. Also, the OC guidelines will undergo updates as we progress, so it will be placed beside this chapter. Thanks again.**

**-A.D.**


	97. Odahving Chapter 44

"I win."

"No, you lose."

Thanatos frowned at the unexpected retort from Xeal, his eyes shifting to the silver-haired Weapon with hostile curiosity. "What makes you say tha-"

All of a sudden, Thanatos suddenly felt an out-of-place relief in his lifting arm, which should have been blocking Xeal's greatsword from coming down on his head. Sure, he was stronger than the three of them but this relief feels as if...

...the sword is not there.

Eyes widening in surprise, Thanatos reflexively looked up and now could see that his arm was just pushing up against nothing more than the air, with the sword gone. "Could it be you...?" Thanatos had no time to ask as he heard a battle cry in front and he looked back at Xeal just in time to spot the rematerialized right arm heading straight for his face with its brutal fist. There was no way that Thanatos could stopped the punch. His lifting arm was up in air fighting nothing. His left leg was trying to prevent Fritz from pushing his arm cannon down for a shot. His right leg was up against Akira's own leg to stop it from giving him a round house. His other arm, and as well as his sword, were trying their best to keep his body balanced. And finally, his face could not move, for its ear was being snagged on incessantly by Xeal's merciless mandibles.

Thanatos was as good as trapped. As the fateful punch got closer towards him, Thanatos tried to rewind and review the events that had happened over and over again, until he came up with a final conclusion. Xeal's standing up against the killer intent, his smashing into the concrete wall, his spitting of blood in Thanatos' face, his low voice deliberately forcing Thanatos to lean in to listen, the formation of a triangle between the three comrades, the numerous attacks that aimed all for the person in the center, the manipulation of his vision and focus through Xeal's biting of his ear, the stopping of all four of Thanatos' limbs. All that, all those details.

They were all part of a ruse meant to allow one little angry teenager to stuff his clenched fist into his cheek?!

"Smar-URRGGHHH!" Once again, before he could speak, Thanatos was cut off by the knuckles slamming home, the tremendous force behind them plowing its way deep into Thanatos' right cheek and drilling even deeper against his teeth. His strength now completely faded away by his surprise, Thanatos could only gape at his sudden loss of grip by Izanagi, his head pummeled to the side, as the rest of his body became limp from the sudden imbalance.

As he fell, Thanatos' eyes shifted about as the world spun around him, trying to comprehend what was going on. At that moment, the pressure on his cheek disappeared and a flash of silver light washed over his vision briefly. Finding that Xeal's right arm had disappeared with the same speed as before, Thanatos only realized what was finally going on when he fell to the ground. Thanatos' pupils dilated in shock at the sight of three weapons above his body, descending down towards him with killer intent. One of them was a mechanical motorcycle leg, coming down with its aura of neon blue around the intended drop kick. The other was an arm cannon, looking as if it was the front part of a World War II flak gun barrel shaved off, and with an orange glow furiously building up inside. The last was a sword that Thanatos had stopped twice, the runes on the large blade glowing sky blue as they came in for a deadly powerful slice. This time, however, Thanatos could no longer stop any of them, nor did he have the time to unleash another wave of killer intent.

"WE WIN!"

Thanatos could not help but smile, impressed. They were right; they did win. Thanatos had truly lost.

"CHAIN RESONANCE: UNUSUAL BARRAGE!"

In a huge combination of attacks, the trio of the Unusual unleashed all their fury onto the poor victim stuck in between them, all mercy, all hesitation and all care for the world abandoned in favour of utterly obliterating their target. Xeal unleashed his shockwave slash. Akira let loose his powerful leg guillotine drop. Fritz fired the energy bolt he had charged to the full maximum. Neon blue, orange and sky blue combined together to form a white mass that engulfed the resigned Thanatos. Within three seconds, the trio was forcefully flung back by the sheer blast of their united attack. Each watched with anticipation at the incredible growth of the white mass of energy. Soon, not even the entire house they are standing on could hold the power above it and the structure collapsed between their feet as they were washed in too by the white sphere.

It was a whir of energy inside the sphere, like torrents furious running around in some miniature ocean. However, as the origin of the energy, Xeal, Akira and Fritz were unaffected by its intensity and the only thing they had to deal with was their weightlessness as they fell from the roof, the ball of power falling with them towards the ground as well. As for its main target, however, Thanatos was out-of-sight, entirely engulfed by the pure ocean of energy that made up the sphere.

Finally, said energy could no longer hold itself within its shape and like a bubble, the sphere burst, allowing the energy within it to roll up into the air like a vertical flood, before disappearing fully into the white clouds in a manner darkly similar to Odahving's Undefined Space.

As expected, the house was entirely obliterated. None of its former structure remained. Not even the foundation survived. All that was left were the remains. Debris, made up of brick, wood and tiles layered the ground and compressed pieces of furniture looked like balls under the rubble, bent beyond recognition. Smoke and dust did not form a cloud this time, instead they snaked off the smoking remnants in individual strands, forming an intense smell of burning to those who have these strands silently snaking up their nose.

Akira had nine.

"AHH! MY NOSE, MY NOSE! It's burning!" Akira screamed in a high-pitched, almost girly squeak as he tried to cover his nose and ran about to blow off the suffocating sensation. However, before he could even run a full circle, -BOOM- Akira was instantly smashed into the ground by the merciless flat of Xeal's blade, its owner glaring at Xeal irritably.

"Would you just shut up?" Xeal scolded with his stern face as he sat on a mound of dislodged bricks, waving his weapon through the air in intricate circles before allowing it to glow and morph back into his right arm. Smiling at both his characteristic anger and finesse, Fritz sat beside him as the two looked upon their work. Tendrils of lingering white energy still stalked the scene of the collapse, causing much obscurity, but both of them knew that Thanatos had to be destroyed by that combined attack. Whether it was out of hope, expectation or worry, they did not know. Their bodies just felt too sore to do anything else as they sat there without another word. All except one final statement from Xeal, as he picked up what seemed to be the upper portion of a particular music machine. Xeal identified as a turntable.

You know, the iconic machine for DJs.

"Cyril is so gonna screw us for destroying her house."

* * *

><p>"Do you hear something?" Cyril asked as she suddenly had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She felt like she should be pissed off at something. As if she was not already pissed off the strange figure standing in front of her with a glowing fire ball in his hand. Answering to her question, the figure gave a shake of his head, his face hidden by the shadows cast by the white cloak. Making sure that the metal table was between her and the silent individual, Cyril kept her hands on her green headphones, ready to charge in at full force. The figure was clearly a new guy. She had definitely never seen him before in the DWMA. So that means she could get the jump on him by surprising him with her Sound form, not to mention the sonic speed and intangibility of the form.<p>

"Whoa whoa whoa! Take it easy, girl. I don't want a taste of your prowess," Cyril gasped as the figure suddenly raised his hands in peace, with the fireball still floating so threateningly against his palm. His voice, however, was the reason Cyril gasped. Something familiar seemed in it. Not only that, his reaction meant he recognized her ability. Could it be that this is someone she knew from before? Someone who had the same tone of laziness in his voice?

"It's troublesome but I just need to take out the cameras watching us." The figure explained as he waved his arm out, sending the fireball hurtling towards the four cameras at all four corners of the room in one big loop. Surprisingly, the fireball did not touch the cameras. Instead, as it got near each device, the flames turned at the last moment, while the camera sparked before shutting off with a sad groan. Eventually, the fire returned to the figure's waiting palm, dissipating completely with a mere clench.

"You...you melted the circuits inside of them, with the flames' heat," Cyril stated with surprised eyes, her soft tone slightly awed. The man affirmed her statement with a small courteous nod. Taking his time to take the interrogator's seat, the figure slowly motioned to Cyril to sit down as well, which she did reluctantly. Looking over him once more, Cyril could not help but wonder who she was talking to, as she kept her hands on her headphones just in case.

"Still as suspicious as ever, Cyril Yiuta." Seeing Cyril's surprised face, the figure gave a small guffaw as he leaned drowsily back onto the seat. "As your interrogator, it's only natural that I know your name."

"Who are you?" Cyril finally asked, her hands stilling against her headphones, almost on the verge of taking them off. This guy knows too much about her to be a simple interrogator. Who is he?!

"How long has it been, Cyril? Five years?" The figure ignored the dropping jaw of Cyril as he sluggishly scratched his brow, trying hard to remember whatever he was trying to say. "Or maybe four? Perhaps, three?"

Cyril's answering voice was shaky and almost nervous. "Five. Five years..._Fig_."

"So it's been that long huh?" The figure smiled slightly as he removed his hood off with a flourish, revealing to Cyril the face of the stranger. His narrowed and focused eyes took her attention first, the central heterochromia within them creating a mixture of red and orange, more specifically beginning with a red region around the pupil which then gradients out to orange. It was almost as if there was fire burning within his very eyeballs, churning behind his lenses, before being sucked into the dark abyss that was his pupil. His hair was a messy crop that curled down the neck onto his shoulders and the black color of it was not as intense as Alduin's night but was still dark enough to contrast against his eyes. His face, well-sculpted, was also decorated with a five o'clock shadow, giving him a brazen look. At the same time, the lines on Fig's face were rather deep, not only making him seem older, but also more tired.

"You look exactly the same," Cyril muttered in disbelief as she scanned Fig's face for any signs of growth. Yet, the face in front of her matched completely with her memory of the Fig five years ago, before he suddenly disappeared from the DWMA.

"I would be very worried if I don't," Fig joked as he now took his turn to scan Cyril. "You however have indeed grown. Not just in height and face but also your chest."

"C-chest!?"

Fig smiled ever so friendlily and innocently as he moved his head to one side, just in time to dodge the punch from the red-faced DJ. "Now, now. Is that how you treat the person who accepted you into the Unusuals?" The first Unusual of DWMA asked rhetorically as he kept up his smile and his dodging, his movements simple and absolutely efficient. "And still, you fail to touch me, Cyril. Five years seem to be too little for you to catch up," Fig gently taunted as Cyril, finally out of breath from her failed assault, sat back onto the chair with a forceful clang, her eyes gazing at Fig with both familiarity and unease.

"Why are you here, Fig? And what's with the garb?" Cyril asked the first questions that came to her mind and she was about to ask another one before Fig raised one of his hands towards her and Cyril instantly stopped. The motion struck a memory in her head. That's right. His raising of his hand was Fig's main movement to make the Unusuals silent whenever they were making too noisy a meeting. And it ALWAYS did its job. Even now it worked, as Cyril remained silent while Fig retracted his hand with a satisfied nod.

"I see, you still remember this," Fig smiled warmly as he seemed to dwelve into memories of his own, gazing at his hand, probably recalling the moments when he had used it. "Remember that I am supposed to be the interrogator, but you are free to ask me anything. I'm surprised though, that you did not take this opportunity to ask why I left."

"We thought you were kidnap-"

"I see. So I was reported MIA, maybe even KIA. Sweet, I am dead to the world. How comforting."

"You can't blame us given how you acted in your last months."

"How I acted? Or how you perceived I acted?" Cyril's eyes widened at Fig's answer as her senior chuckled at her confusion, continuing on despite her look of shock. "You see, Cyril, there are times when you need to understand before you make a hasty decision." Placing his finger against the side of his head, Fig closed his eyes as he seemed to recall his memories. "Let me guess, one of the things you doubted about me was my fairness, when I banished Kelly from the Unusuals. All of you must have thought that I had made a perfectly wrong decision, that Kelly was a good member, a good friend and did not deserve to be banished. So, how is Kelly these few years?"

Cyril, caught off guard by the question, immediately looked down away from Fig's focused eyes, finally understanding what Fig was getting at. With a stammering voice, Cyril answered, "She's dead."

And not a single twitch of empathy or sadness could be seen from the still smiling Fig, who continued with his 'interrogation'. When she noticed this, Cyril could not help but feel her fist clench underneath the table. "How?"

"She turned into...a Kishin Egg. Akira...mercy-killed her."

"I see." Fig replied with a now sympathetic voice. Whether his tone was faked or not, Cyril could not tell. Just like those years before. "I'm genuinely surprised it was him. Those two were always close. My sincere apologies for Akira's crisis. And what about Xeal? He doing well?"

"He's still good, Fig."

"But is he restraining himself enough?"

"No...I mean, yes. He is."

"I seriously doubt that." Fig folded his arms disbelievingly. "The guy always creates a huge list of collateral damage. One of these days, he might just destroy your house. If you two do get together."

"Senior!" Cyril protested with a blush across her face, much to Fig's amusement as he gave another small chuckle.

After he was done, Fig sported a tired smile towards Cyril, before pulling her in suddenly for a hug, leading Cyril to gasp in his embrace, along with an involuntary blush on her cheeks. "Fig, are you..."

"It's been so long...since I've seen you guys. It warms my heart to know that you guys are at least doing well without me," Fig said nostalgically as he released Cyril, who gazed at him with questioning eyes. At that moment, Cyril suddenly spied small differences between the Fig of the past and the Fig right now. First of all, he looked weary.

Much more weary than before, as if he had been placed through ten iron man races, winning gold every time, and followed it up with ten years of travelling across not just the world, but the galaxy, on a rowboat. Second, there was now a peculiar aura, no, atmosphere around him, as if he just did not seem to be all there, as if time was no longer a fundamental part of him any longer. As if he could not age. Finally, Fig also seemed powerful. Much more powerful than before. Cyril could feel it. She could know it in her bones that Fig had gotten stronger. It was a given with someone as training-enthusiastic as him, but this degree of improvement far outmatched anything she saw from Fig.

"What happened...to you, Fig?"

"Same thing that was the reason why I left and the reason why I am back. I joined an order that served a being far higher than Shinigami. I assume that if my master told me right, that you have the memories of Alduin granted to you by the man himself."

His words affirmed by a quick nod from Cyril, Fig leaned back against the chair, his head flung back, looking up towards the sky called the ceiling. "Then you must know about his grandfather Time. I serve the Concept of Time as a member of the Psijic Order, Time's watchmen."

"Psijic...Order? Time's watchmen? Fig, what did you do to yourself?" Cyril asked with concern. Her hand, hesitant at first, stretched out to touch the sky-watching Fig on his hand, retaking his attention as he leaned back up.

"I did the only thing I could do, Cyril. I went beyond the roles placed on me by Shinigami and followed where my heart told me to."

"Fig...You of all people should know that Shinigami never has the tolerance to accept other groups. He can't even appease with the witches. An entirely new group of watchmen, especially one claimed to be following a higher being than Shinigami, would never be allowed to exist for long."

"It is not a claim!" Cyril was shocked back onto her seat at the sudden strength behind Fig's voice. "You should have the memories to understand that Time exists. And besides, you refer only the current Shinigami. Given the circumstances now, he cannot simply just refuse our help, not after he was stomped upon by Odahving so easily and ruthlessly. And if he were to die in this war, we'll see how Death the Kid handles the situation in his father's stead."

"W-war?!"Cyril blurted out disbelievingly, "Shinigami's death?! Ignatius Mareflamme, do you know you sound like you are threatening us?"

"War with Odahving, Chaos, as well as Order. It's standard and inevitable protocol for the DWMA to quash any sizable threat with a declaration of war. Hell, they will even declare war against one person, so long as he is a full-fledged Kishin," Conjuring a fireball in his hands, Fig murmured in his tired-sounding voice as he commenced juggling it between his hands, before adding three more one after the other, causing the unusually silent orbs to weave together into an illusionary circle. "That was the case with Asura. Oh how I wished I had been with you guys then."

"Please Fig! Shinigami dying? What does that mean? Xeal will demolish you if he heard that. Even I don't think you should say something like that."

"And that is saying a lot. However, it can't be helped. Your refusal to acknowledge the facts does not render the facts null. Be it next year or the year after, Shinigami will not survive this. It hurts for me to tell you this, but no matter how much power the crazy Reaper has, he's going to have to abdicate from his little throne of Order's Guardian sooner or later. Poor little Death Junior would have to take his place. But can he maintain DWMA with the same efficiency as his dad? I wonder."

"Shinigami will not allow-"

"SHINIGAMI IS NOT A GOD!" Cyril was shocked to silence as the ring of fire Fig held converged into a single giant ball, which further compressed itself into the size of a golf ball in the palm of his hand. When it was done, the expected orange blaze had shifted to a very eerie blue. Not only that, the fiery tongues no longer flicked about lazily but burned intensely, with every tongue now forced together into an almost transparent spike of blue fire.

His personality matching the flame held in his hand, Fig now stood straight in front of Cyril, his chair hurled into the wall behind him, crumpled by the force. His eyes were no longer sleepily open; instead, they were sternly wide and the gradient of colors in them appeared to be moving like that of a ravenous fire, fallen into its desire to consume. When Fig spoke again, Cyril recognized this particular voice from a distant memory five years ago. This persona had appeared before, when Fig had sent Kelly away from the group. No, after that, when everyone protested against it. Back then, it was rather manageable to face it, especially when you could share the pressure exuded with everyone by your side.

But now...To think that she would have to face it alone, Cyril could not help but break a sweat. The first of many, as it seems, as she tugged at her turtleneck, suddenly aware of the heat pressing down on her. The blue flame was small in size but the temperatures it gave off were immense. This was the first time, however, that Cyril had seen Fig use the blue flame in his human form. In fact, he should not have been able to in the first place.

His voice, as it resonated in the vibrating heat of the air, had lost every string of its laid-back tone, replacing it with an austere sound that was both grim and harsh. That was the effect of the Flame and the Void, the focusing mental method utilized by Ignatius Mareflamme, the Demon Bunsen Burner.

"And you will do well to remember that..."

* * *

><p>Bringing a hand up to the last ring of chain wound around his neck, Alduin slightly gritted his teeth as the links briefly held on. By the second pull, the chain spontaneously disintegrated, its individual links scattering to the ground like rain droplets, creating a reverberating sound of chinks that add a metallic tinge to the haunting silence between him and the white-clothed stranger, who had his back turned to him, obviously trying hard to prepare himself properly by swiping off any dust and flattening his cloak. The man even tried to hide a throat-clearing cough. His attempt was not something you could call successful, given that the sound bounced fervently in the enclosed space of the dungeon. Any normal person would have been able to hear it from a mile away.<p>

"Oi." Alduin called as he threw one of the leftover links at the man's head, grinning when the man turned at the sound of his voice, only to have a piece of metal collide into his face.

"Ow! What in the...!" The stranger yelled in pain as he took the hit head-on, much to Alduin's subsequent surprise. The man's arms did not even shoot up to rub himself in the bruise spot. Instead they laid still at his side, completely incoherent with the stranger's head, which swung back to forth in its hood, as if writhing with pain. What strengthened Alduin's bewilderment was the fact that the person' voice was immediately recognizable.

"Felix?" Alduin tried to clarify as he stepped up towards Felix but he paused when the person's right hand suddenly stretched out and opened its palm towards him, signaling him to stop. Alduin instantly scowled. He already understood what was happening to Felix as the other hand, visibly shaking, grabbed the cloak's hood, pulling it back to reveal the expected: Felix's young gaunt face, filled with panick.

Someone was controlling Felix like a puppet.

Apparently it was still not a complete grip of control, given that Felix was able to not only move his head, but also speak. "Alduin, what's happening? I was sleeping in the guest room a moment ago! Then suddenly my body was moving by itself and somehow this cloak just appeared around me at the same time. Am I in danger?"

Alduin promptly shook his head, annoyed that he will have to deal with two people right now. "Calm down. It still has not played with your body. It might not mean harm to you." For a moment, Alduin felt his wrist for Gospel and his pocket for Lucifer's collar. Both of them were not there. One of them was left with Cyril, the other was probably held by the DWMA watchmen. Either way, Alduin still had one more trick. "Soul Focus!" Alduin growled as his arms were enveloped in the familiar coat of onyx nightmarish flames, surrounded by crackling bursts of equally black electricity. As expected, the gesturing hand pointed towards Felix's head, who was now brim with horror at the sight of Alduin's power.

"Oi oi!" Felix hurriedly shouted out, confused by what was happening. "Who's 'it'? What are you doing? Why is my hand pointing at me?"

"I'm sorry, Felix," Alduin charged forward towards the boy, his clenched fist enveloped in flames. "But it seems like someone needs your body for a little while."

"You got to kidd-"

Poor Felix did not remember what happened next.

**Hope you like this update!**


	98. End of Book 2

On the sloping steppe plains of Mongolia, it was always as it was. Quiet, surreal, pure. The animals in the realm rarely came out in the break of dawn but butterflies were already rising out of their flower beds, while their nocturnal moth cousins took their place in sleep. The land rolled up and down in many slopes and hills, but all of them graduated down into a valley, with one half peppered with trees and foliage while the other an endless sea of grass. As the orange orb known as the sun rose over the mountain-bordered horizon, the dim gentle rays it gave off refracted in the dews condensed onto the plant life, allowing them to sparkle like little gems.

In fact, the view of such a natural paradise in the human age of pollution would be worth many times more than the collective value of so many jewels. It was the type of place perfect for any loner who wished to apply upon to himself deep soul-searching within but, as Stein carelessly kicked aside the fresh body of a fallen tree, he wondered why the person he was looking for would exile himself here.

"Finally." Stein sighed in relief as he spotted the thatched cottage, fashioned crudely out of logs, sitting on the slope, just fifty more meters or so away. The ex-Meister pulled out his cigarette to give out a puff of smoke, giving little care to the damage he caused as the obstacle he had kicked aside bowled into another clump of pines, uprooting them straight out from the ground, before tumbling together into a messy heap. "You don't know how much trouble I had to go through to find you," Stein flicked his cigarette butt aside, a black-yellow flicker grazing the smoldering end. As he neared the house, the butt landed into the heap of wood. By the time he was at the cracking door, a ring of fire had encircled the entire area, the largest flames crackling above the burning heap. "Don't make me have to find you again," Stein warned casually as he noticed the bullets embedded into the house's foundation, used in replacement of nails.

With a smile, Stein flipped backwards.

As if on cue, the house exploded into numerous shreds and pieces, with a hail of peach-coloured bullets added into the mix. Twirling around as he dodged, Stein held on to his grin as each bullet passed by his agile body, the scientist enraptured in the sheer amount of physics each bullet held within it and the numerous calculations and knowledge he had to draw and create. Skidding onto the ground, Stein wasted no time as he sprinted to the side, the bullets whizzing just behind him. Satisfied with his calculations, Stein's smirk widened as the man raised his hand. On command, tendrils of electricity spurted out from his palm, shooting out into a hexagonal shape in front of him.

At first, it would seem like the bullets, still coming from a figure hidden in the brown smoke, would simply bypass the hexagon and hit Stein. Instead, the bullets stopped the moment they passed into the hexagon, yellow electric lines grabbing them by the tip, pulling them to a halt. Electromagnetism, Stein relished in the science as the shooter paused for a moment of shock.

"C'mon, can you afford such slow wits?!" Stein yelled as he abandoned the hexagon, charging forth into the brown smoke at his opponent. Within the smog, Stein could only see the silhouette of a man pointing a Gatling gun at him, no, his arm of a Gatling gun at him. As Stein kept on running forward in his craze, the whir of the Gatling gun's barrel spinning could be heard. It was getting ready to fire. Stein, however, was not worried as he charged onward, his Soul Force-enhanced palm shooting up straight up towards the spinning barrel. If he was too slow, the bullets would take his arm off. If he was too fast, he would be open for a counterattack. Stein had no such worries.

Because his calculations were always perfect. Always.

ZING ZING ZING! The Gatling bullets shot forward, just passing nanometers off Stein's hair, and into the fire, followed by the sky. The barrel, slowly decelerating from its spin, pointed slightly upward, forced into that position by an open palm pushing up below it. The smoke had been all but cleared, pushed and dispersed by the force of Stein's palm strike. Finally, Stein could see his who his target had been and he was slightly disappointed at the sight as he pressed on the chokehold he had on the other guy's neck.

The man was tall, being of the same height as Stein. He was also slim and his pale skin was youthful, with his age probably in the 20s. Platinum blonde hair reached his shoulders in straight strands and his blue eyes were gazing at Stein with utter defiance. His attire was pitiful to say the least, for he was virtually wearing aging rags and badly stitched clothes. His entire right sleeve had been ripped apart, due in thanks to the large seven-barreled Gatling gun that was his right arm. The Weapon's mouth was turned at its corners and Stein arched his eyebrow at the lack of a struggle from the man, who seemed perfectly content with the hand gripping around his thick neck.

"I take it you are Dieter Schmidt?"

"So vhat if I ahm?" The man's voice was laced heavily with a German accent, which made his cocky attitude all the more stuck-up. All the more interesting to Chaos. "You svine are noo matchk for moi! If yo DWMA bratz vant to take moi down, you should do better!" Bringing his leg in, Dieter smirked as he kicked Stein in the chest, jumping back out of reach when the doctor's grip slackened in response.

Stein heard the sense of approval coming from his master. Truthfully, Stein had to agree, as he callously rubbed his chest, mocking his pain from the kick. "Truly you are a marvelous specimen, Dieter. One excellent enough to pique my master's interest. I am Doctor Stein. Ein Stein. I am of-" Taking a step forward, Stein cheekily pursed his lips at Dieter pointing his Gatling gun towards him.

"Chut up, DWMA vorm!" Dieter giggled as the barrel begun to spin for another volley of bullets. But when his giggle was suddenly overpowered by the outbreak of Stein's mad cackles, Dieter blinked blankly in surprise at his supposed DWMA opponent laughing maniacally in the face of a Gatling gun.

"DWMA worms indeed! WORMS ARE THE PERFECT SPECIMEN FOR DISSECTION! THEY DON'T COMPLAIN, SCREAM OR EVEN TRY TO STRUGGLE." Stein howled cacophonously as he tried to mock-dissect something in the air, his fingers strumming over his mock instruments as if they were like conducting batons, signaling the ensemble to play with him as he dissected.

"INSTEAD THEY PLACE THEIR FAITH ON THE PRODUCTION OF MORE WORMS TO MAKE UP FOR MY VICTIMS BUT THAT JUST MEANS I HAVE MORE WORMS TO CHOOSE FROM, IS IT NOT? MORE KNOWLEGDE TO ATTAIN FROM THEM!"

"DOES IT NOT JUST EXCITE THE CELLS IN YOUR BLOOD THINKING ABOUT THE ENDLESS MUTATION POSSIBILITIES WITHIN SUCH EASY PREY? DOES IT NOT SPARK YOUR BRAIN WONDERING THE THINGS YOU COULD LEARN FROM SO MANY SIMPLETONS?" Stein continued his sick giggling as he continued on his madness outbreak, this time in a much more controlled tone. "You amuse me, no you exhilarate me, Mr. Schmidt. Your words, no matter their accent, are perfectly attuned with our master's ever-changing desires. Tell me, Mr. Schmidt, would you give everything, even your soul, to serve Chaos?"

Dieter was apprehensive at first, trying to make head or tail of what Stein was saying. However, one thing was clear to him: the words of this mad scientist seem to strike him as being extremely agreeable. It just made him feel so much more alive just thinking about it. "Incredible! I hafe never seen such pasionate tesire for disembovelment and destruction!" Dieter's grin almost matched Stein's own as his Gatling gun reverted to his arm in a flash of light. "I take it you are no DWMA vorm?"

"I used to," Stein ignored Dieter's raised eyebrow as he lit another cigarette with his finger, "but now I work for Chaos. As of now, my, our, aim is not simply the DWMA, but the world."

"What zhall you do with the world?" Puffing out unnaturally energetic wisps of smoke, Stein felt the corners of his mouth tilt up at the question.

"I will dissect it. Down to the last molecule."

"That iz a rezpectable goal. The world haz long outlifed itz pitiful existence," Dieter said with a half-snarl, as he looked at his hand, as if he was grasping it within his fingers. He seemed very ready to just clench his hand and crush the world to smithereens. "Deztruction and uninhibited war are the only way to bring it back to the path of redemption. Do you and your mazter understand what I zeek?"

"Yes, we do, Dieter. The world we seek, Dieter, is one of total chaos. All things will be left to fate but the only fates left will be that of fighting and dying. The strong fall, the weak ascend. Then the weak become the strong and the strong become the weak. And the cycle of chaos and war will restart over and over again."

"A world like that just blownz moi avay. You go far to zeek moi out and moi shall repay it with moi's employment. What doez your mazter vant me for?"

"Stand there." Dieter's grin then grew even larger as Stein raised his hand out, but instead of electricity, black tentacles shot out from Stein's sleeve. Entirely made out of chaotic darkness, the tendrils blew away the ring of fire to ash with their advent. Roaring numerous screams from mouths hidden in their black bodies, the shadows enveloped the gleeful Dieter, encasing the Weapon in a large onyx sphere.

For the moments that followed, Stein's face hardened at the displeasure of Chaos leaving its influence off from his body, seeping through the tendrils into the sphere, where the Concept did its delightful work. Eventually, Stein breathed a sigh of relief when he felt Chaos back with him, speaking to him in its seductive tongues that always filled his body with ecstasy.

He was sure Dieter had to be feeling the same thing, when the Weapon appeared from the sphere falling apart. In replacement of the rags that had insulted his body, the black trench coat signature of the group of Chaos hung around his back, over a light grey vest on a white button up dress shirt. White striped dress pants also covered his legs with black dress shoes. Cracking his knuckles under his white gloves, the Weapon now looked much more refined and noble with his wardrobe and he seemed perfectly in tune with it. Taking a moment to relish the feel of clean clothes on his skin, Dieter gave a breath of fresh air before falling into a very wide and dangerous smirk.

Stein could not help but return it. It was clear that Dieter had been told of Chaos' plan for chaos and destruction.

"I see. So, you vant moi veak baby brother, huh? Zat I like, _Kompagnon(buddy)_..."

* * *

><p>It was rather quiet. The air was still, the ground even stiller and the world below, cracks running across its molten surface, gave no sound in the vacuum of space. Quiet was good. Order liked it quiet at times like this, as he sat inside the Gardens of the Ancients, his sun eyes closed in meditation. Quiet meant serenity, peace, focus and control. Just like as he was having every single blade of grass of the Garden standing straight at fifty centimeters tall, Order had everything under control.<p>

The massive angelic being gave no breaths of relaxation as he simply levitated –his ordered idea of sitting- at the base of the gargantuan tree that marked the centerpiece of the Gardens, his elegant bulk dwarfed by the great trunk of wood found nowhere else in the world below his feet. As his wings tried in vain to wrap their wispy trails around it, Order could not help but felt irritation at his inability to manipulate this giant piece of worthless bark. It was the only thing in the entirety of the Halls to defy his 'blessings'. Such foolishness from a seemingly inanimate object gave him ample motivation to just smash the entire thing, and the Gardens as well, to bits, so that he can freely manipulate the entire place to his will. Even now, his wings begin to reflexively press upon the tree, almost ready to crush it between their mists.

Yet, Order quickly reminded himself once again why he could not destroy Yggdrasil, the Great Tree of Life, right now. Indeed, the tree served no great purpose in his plans and it could also be considered a random factor that Order did not want present. However, he is currently at war with his ignorant and childish brother. Chaos is already difficult enough to control and thus he could not risk having another Concept breathing down his neck. While Life may be young for a Concept, she has a terrible temper when it counts. Order did not like to admit it, but having two Concepts against him would be more than detrimental to his carefully-laid-out plans. He could not afford any more wild cards within it, especially after Time has already joined in.

Order cringed when he remembered about the most powerful Concept. To think that the little dragon god would be that Concept's grandson. It only made dealing with Time even more worrisome. Realizing he was being too unconfident, Order refocused on his meditations. Every flower bud around him opened at once and together with all those already bloomed, they transformed simultaneously into white lilies, each and every one pointing straight towards the still thoughtful statue of Order, his angel wings floating around him as they expelled sparkling stars, each as small as his eyes. Total control. He loved it.

In fact, he should not have fretted so much about Time. Order was clearly aware of the rules placed upon Time. As long as they are in place, Time was not allowed direct participation against any Concept. That is already enough to ensure a flawless victory.

Now, on to the next step to that perfection.

Order slowly opened his eyes, remembering about the instructions he had given his minion a while ago. It had been exactly forty-two minutes since that Paarthurnax has left for what used to be Nirn. If that pitiful servant had any desire for living, then he should be in front of his eyes with his target before his eye lids were fully opened. Sure enough, as his lids were just about to reach their maximum opening, the entrance portal flashed as circles of runes spiraled around its circumference.

"You are finally here. Right on time, Paarthurnax," Order mused as a white blur zipped out of the purple-white smog of the portal, stopping on the perfectly paved path in front of its expectant master to reveal a stoic individual, his snow-white hair reaching down his unmoving back. In front of him was set a large white box, lines running across it at complex yet robotic angles, with each turn always a right angle. Its height was perfectly aligned with him, its width perfectly twice his. Nothing short of a masterpiece from Order, as its creator admired the simple contour that masked the sophistication inside.

"Yes, Master Order." Paarthurnax's voice, as always, was lovelily lacking in emotion and it answered with an obedience that showed no wavering. Looks Order would not need to blink after all.

"I presume you have no difficulties subduing our guest?" Order asked with a smile.

"None, he came willingly." Oh bother. Order had no choice but to blink.

BAHMM! Paarthurnax's expression showed no pain as he was slammed cruelly into the ground by an invisible hand. Unlike the times before, the quiet servant complied with the punishment, as he willingly laid there. Paarthurnax took beating after beating while he listened intently to his master's enraged voice that sent shockwaves throughout the endless Gardens.

"CAME WILLINGLY!? Have your ears been so insufferably blocked, Paarthurnax? I instructed you to subdue them, not to ESCORT them! I don't care whether they came willingly or not! If you do not carry out my words exactly as I intended, then how will you fare when we invade Earth! I cannot simply allow you to diverge from the original plan just because some person did not fight back!" Order halted his barrage with a frown as he gazed down at his pitiful dog, now wedged in a smoldering crater that had dented the paved path. He could not have that. With another blink, the path fixed itself, pushing against the dent till it was once again flat and perfect. Order breathed a sigh of relief. At least he did not have to fix the grass.

"Get up, Paarthurnax." Order ordered, his six-eyed gaze turning towards the white container in front of him.

With shaking arms, Paarthurnax took a while to pick his battered body from the ground, unsurprised at the lack of debris that should have been resultant of the crater. Pain ran through his entire body like lava. His nerve endings were on fire as they tried to scream at his still unmoved mind, but he ignored them. Pain was the best thing that would remind him of his failings to follow his master. His master was the god. His master was the absolute truth. Nothing deserved more obedience and loyalty than his master. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of his long-crushed memories, Paarthurnax could recall that once, in a time long ago, he had hoped to use his master to help him for something. Such an audacious thought! To use his master was akin to high heresy and treason to the universe.

So, to redeem himself for having such hopes, Paarthurnax would gladly receive those punishments once again.

However, now he must allow his master to do what all masters must do: conquer. Thus, Paarthurnax stood still and strong at the side and he watched his master with those eternally grey-white, dull eyes of his.

Wasting no time to regard his servant's actions and thoughts, Order gave a snort as his six wings split into a million razor-thin lines, their length only visible due to the white aura of solidity around them. Each line then dug into the numerous equally luminescent carvings that marked the box. A pulse of energy, marked a slightly brighter orb, shot out through each line, giving a low ominous hum in the air white it was transferred. As the energy converged together into the cube, the cravings lit into a brilliant white, an aurora forming rapidly around it. Brimming with incredible amounts of power, the box then begin to reshape itself, its numerous angular pieces shifting themselves over the carvings. The top of the box begin to open up, revealing a second layer of cubes and this second layer transformed as well, not only opening but also forming two arm-rests at the side. The bottom of the box opened up as well, but instead of revealing more inside it, the bottom expanded to form an oval base onto the path, with sixteen prongs extended out and planting tiny mechanical fingers that stabilized the vibration of the object.

By the time the entire thing was set up, the box had effectively transfigured into a sleek combination between a metallic recliner and a coffin, with the latter being a large oval set diagonally onto the sixteen-pronged base, facing towards the angelic Concept, along with several etched lines running around the body-shaped container.

"Now..." Order murmured expectantly as a new wing sprouted out from his chest, smaller and narrower than the original six. Extending out the wing tip as if it was a finger, Order narrowed his eyes as he drew a single blaring white line down the middle of the construct, pulling off once he reached the base. As soon as his threads of light also broke contact from the diagonally set coffin, it began to open up from the white line, strips of thick silvery metal retracted away from the middle and receding into the sides.

Ten whole layers of metal were opened in this fashion and when the final layer, a white opaque veil covering what was now obviously a person, was revealed, all that Order did was to lean a bit closer and exhaled. As quickly as shooting stars, the veil dispersed into half a million of the white feathery seeds of the dandelion snow, flying away into the direction of Order's breath. It would have been a beautiful sight, were it not for the fact that anyone who paid attention to it would be pulverized to particles by Order.

Indeed, the dandelion snow flew in a symmetrical fashion, spreading out before his eyes, but that same symmetrical image could not be seen by those at the side. Instead, it should look like a spreading-out cone of dandelion snow to them, disorderly and ugly. To allow such a memory imprinted into their minds would be a horrific burden upon their miniscule brains and torturous death would be only thing that could free them from that depressing sight. At least, that was what Order assumed, as he gave a warning glance to Paarthurnax standing at the side, his servant correctly looking down.

Looking back at his newest subject, Order instantly felt a sense of revulsion and disgust at the being lying unconscious on the opened construct. For when the dispersal of the veil had revealed under it a being clearly made out of four different beings sewed together, with two entirely different arms that did not even match in length and muscle, as well as legs that had to be way too spritely and slim to be supposedly capable of carrying the packed and muscular chest that at least was matching with the square-jawed head and its scraggy beard. To be more exact, the right arm was longer and leaner than the left and the hair mass on it was great, almost bordering to that of an animal's. The left arm, on the other hand, was clean of any hair and while more muscularly developed, lacked the tough definition in the right. Even without all the discrepancies from this, Order recalled from human books, Frankenstein's Monster, the skin for the entire body was deathly pale with shades of green, as well as having a very raw and dead shine to it. Order cringed even further as he gazed at the milky-white pupil-less eyes that gave off an luminescent glow under the long grimy mop of weak hair that almost seemed to crack under the mere pressure of the leather helm on it.

"A Durger Skurge. What necromancer would have the right mind to come up with something as impossibly hideous as you?" Order mocked as he gave out a mock-vomit, the tendrils that he had used forming together into his six maelstroms of wings. Allowing one feather to part from the herd, Order smirked with barely-hidden hatred while he guided the feather to land gently onto his prisoner's forehead. "Arise from your slumber, dirt, and state your name!"

In the instant the feather touched its forehead, the creature's back straightened as it was jolted awake, gasping in a muddled voice. At first, its eyes tried to recognize the scenes around him, before gazing up in confusion towards the massive Concept drilling into him with its menacing eyes. Knowing danger when it was near, the Draugr Scourge hurriedly tried to get out from its seat, but the rests where its arms were on suddenly shapeshifted as they formed cuffs around his two different wrists. At the same time, the seat below the shocked creature slid away under him, forcing the Draugr Scourge to fall to the ground on his knees. By the time they touched the hard smooth brick of the garden path, the entire construct had reconstructed itself once again, forming this time two arching pillars that were holding onto two thin threads of light that bounded to the cuffs tautly.

Grunting in its disembodied voice, the Scourge tried its best to pull at the seemingly flimsy strings, only to be stumped by not only the strings' strength, but also their immovability, as if it were diamonds -not strings- that were holding him down. And then, after two more furious tugs, the Draugr gave a loud roar and much to Order's unshowing surprise, the voice giving out the roar was no longer garbled and confusing. This time, it was guttural and penetrating, like the animalistic howl of a wolf. As the lupine sound rang through the Gardens, Order's multitude of brows raised so slightly at the sudden trembling of the longer right arm, the appendage's unusually shifting wrist chaffing endlessly against the cuff. That was when he noticed that the shifting of muscles was also running down the entire length of the right arm, as black glossy fur sprouted out from the skin in large patches, with the skin even regaining colour as if blood was alive and flowing through it once again. By the time he tried to adjust, it was too late.

Unable to bear with the increased size and length of the werewolf arm, the cuff shattered internally, freeing the arm as it slammed against the ground with its long powerful nails digging into the brick ground, the lean but menacing arm being at least as long as the entire creature itself. It made the Draugr Scourge very disportionate but somehow it managed to keep its balance as it attempted to stand back up onto its feet. Sensing resistance on his left arm, the beast roared as it tore at the left cuff, its open jaw revealing that the right half of its teeth had transformed into razor-sharp canines, which it did not hesitate to use on its metallic imprisoner. But when its claws and its teeth attacked, all they could produce was a shrill noise of metal being scratched and in the end the cuff remained perfectly unblemished. Roaring with even more fury, the Scourge relentlessly assaulted the cuff. It was only after fifty such swift strikes that even a hint of a crack appeared on the metal.

Order watched on with small glee, treasuring the sight of the helpless beast trying to rid itself of its restraints, to no avail. This spectacle kept on for a few seconds but in the end, Order begun to find it tiresome. "Paarthurnax..." Order murmured. Responding as soon as the sound "Par" was in the air, the white-haired pale humanoid drove his fist into the back of the Scourge's head. Disorientated by the strike, the beast relented from its escape attempts, using its right arm to instead strike at the person behind it.

Paarthurnax remained blank-faced while his other fist swiftly hit its knuckles into the middle of the right forearm, agitating it with the force pinpointed at the nerves. Growing faster with each movement, Paarthurnax was nothing less than a blur when he drove his elbows into the shoulders, before kicking the back of the creature's shins as they fell back into a kneel. A snap or two signaling bones breaking could be heard but Paarthurnax continued as one of his legs stamped onto the creature's spine, forcing it to bend forward down, while his hands pulled the werewolf arm back. A blood-curdling roar of pain from a single clear voice, just like the time when the arm transformed, rang through the Gardens as the right arm was dislocated from its shoulder.

In fact, as Order observed, the creature's voice was not as disembodied as he thought. Instead, each time a particular part of the body was targeted, Order heard a different voice that was distinct and unique. In total, Order heard four such voices. One for the right arm. One for the left arm. One for the legs. One for the torso. Only when the head was hit were all four voices yelling at once, forming that garbled and confusing mix that Order had initially assumed to be the Scourge's voice.

Viciously assaulted by Paarthurnax, the creature had its large right arm limp against the side of its body, the claws gently scratching the ground. Its shins were twisted behind its knees thanks to Paarthurnax's fracturing kicks and its back was bent painfully forward by Paarthurnax's foot, straining the connection between the left arm that was being held back by the iron grip of the cuff. The four voices were all gasping in tandem, the collective combination coming out as a fluctuating sound. The creature's battered state was a sorry sight to behold but Order did not feel satisfied. It was clear to him that despite the seeds of Order he had implanted into the savage, the beast was still refusing to accept his power, thus its effortless subdual by Paarthurnax. A petty critter; that was all that it was. Order could see zero use of the Scourge in his plans and hence, he concluded that the only relevant solution was elimination. But swift elimination would be too monotonous and boring. Having gone through all this trouble to bring him here, Order must at least derive some form of pleasure from the bothersome subject.

"Suffocate him. Slowly."

Silent as ever, Paarthurnax wringed his arm around the creature's neck and pulled it in with the other in a suffocating ring. Surprised by the sudden threat of death, the creature's torso tried to move against him but Paarthurnax's strength vastly outdid it. As per his master's request, Paarthurnax increased the force of his chokehold in a slow crawl. Steadily, the creature's mouth opened as it realized that for the first time in its undead life, it needed oxygen. It had never breathed before, for being undead meant all its metabolic processes were gone. Yet here it is, gasping for some form of relief from the darkening death-grip wrapping around its mind and its lungs fought desperately for air.

For the first time in a thousand years, the collective chimera of four was experiencing death. Good old sweat death. Immeasurable amount of pleasure was flowing through it, as if new fresh galleons of blood were pumping through its veins again, no longer bound by the tyranny of undead life. The Draugr Scourge had thought that it had forgotten its real goal due to the passage of a thousand years of wandering through the nebulous landscapes of Nirn, but now that its goal was just right in its face, the memory of its goal snapped back to life. Death was to be its savior, its key to freedom from accursed immortality and its redemption.

Had they been allowed to die, the four beings within one could have found peace at last. Alas, that was not to be.

Order, who had been watching, noticed much to his surprise that the creature had ceased its resistance to Paarthurnax's choke-hold and his alarm raised even more when a smile was forming on the lips of the beast. The thing was actually HAPPY that it would die? Realizing the full extent of the creature's mentality in front of him, Order scowled, his six eyes lighting in rageful flames. This critter. This barbarian. How dare he deny him the pleasure of witnessing a painful death! Unforgivable! A beast as savage and as disgusting as this does NOT DESERVE TO DIE HAPPY! "PAARTHURNAX! CEASE!"

Removing his arms from the creature's neck, Paarthrunax showed no objection as he stepped back from the Scourge who reflexively swallowed large amounts of air to satisfy its lungs. Order instantly spotted the mixture of beings trying to stop its impulsive swallowing to no avail, much to his sadistic glee. Whatever this thing really was, it was obvious that it wanted a death to free itself from some burden. Order might have complied dulling out just that to anyone if it was for his own pleasure but unfortunately the notion of 'freeing oneself in death' did not sit well with him. Be it dead or alive, for Order, every single creature must be under his control. If death was to be its way to freedom, then it shall be denied such a privilege.

'But what to do with a creature that I cannot kill? I have done too much to bring him here only to imprison him eternally in a useless cell of immortality.' Order thought as its eyes, crackling in their solar might, turned a blood-red. Gazing thoughtfully and angrily at the creature before him, Order was surprised out of his thoughts when one of the creature's voices suddenly began to speak to him. "Why...," this voice was solid with a Nordic accent, but its tone lacked the Nord's typical brazenness and instead was more honourable. "Why did you deny us deliverance?"

Order did not really understand what it referred to as 'deliverence' but he had a good idea it was referring to death. But before he could even try to come up with suitable words, he was once again beaten by a second voice. This time, the voice was slick and proud, with a dark morbidity that was evident from its words. "I doubt he was going to deny us anything, Cawdor. He probably thinks he could torture us even more before he finally rips us up into bloody salami inside out. Hey, you racist killing machine, how about getting over it and boiling us to a meat stew, huh? I'm sure you are hungry."

"Dat's no way to treat the big fuzzy angel, Hrondil. His probably too a cowardly one to even taste us. But I say, my left arm feels rather itching in this noggin' band of scrap. If it was dwarven steel, that crabbit Collin wad not hiv scratched it." The third voice had a more drunken attitude to it and it was obvious from the get-go that it was a dwarf's, with its accent being similar to what you can consider on Earth as Scottish. It was also clear to Order that the last voice left had to be that of the werewolf labeled Collin.

And unsurprisingly, Collin interrupted as well in that deep gruff harsh beast of a voice that had roared quite a few times before. Whatever accent he was to have, it was drowned out by the ferocious undertones brought about by his lupine vocal cords. Strangely out of the four, the language he used sounded more ancient than the rest. "Thou hath mockest me with unbearable impunity, Darc. Hast thou and I not been connected, thou shalt have suffered a painful death via my claws."

"HA! I dare ya to rip me, ya wabbit! Ya don't even-"

"ENOUGH!" His voice shouting a much greater volume than the rest, Cawdor sounded extremely threatening when he continued with his voice dropped two octaves lower. "You guys are just like two giants fighting over a wooly mammoth: dumb and dumber! As the head and torso of this body, I advise that all of you keep quiet and allow the one who dares deny us deliverance to answer for his crime!" His words were of much revelation to the listening Order, whose brows frowned thoughtfully. It was now clear to him that Cawdor commanded the rest of the minds as the main personality. Before, Order had been worrying how he could appeal to all four personas at once but now he knows he just need to persuade one.

"Crime?" Order spoke in his echoing delivery, his mass of white wisps tensing by a little. But that simple movement was enough. Before the Chimera could even flinch, circular frontiers of dust-filled air shot out through the Gardens and by sheer force of the shockwave, the Gardens were stripped bare of all the foliage that had beautified them in a single second, leaving the untouchable Yggdrasil alone in its epicenter. Where the greenery went, nobody knew, for when the frontiers washed over a plant, it just vanished on the spot, not a trace remaining. While Paarthurnax stood still and unbothered by the sudden desecration of his home's backyard, Cawdor and his compatriots were visibly stunned by the sight, their jaw open agape and their pupil-less eyes as wide as their lifeless muscles could strain.

A moment of silence passed as Order allowed the four to attempt to comprehend their surroundings. A pleasured smile hidden behind his holy aura was the sole hint of his delight at their confusion.

"We have walked hundreds of years..." Cawdor murmured under his hasted breath as an accompanying grunt from Collin signaled the reversion of his right arm. "Killed many adversaries, from dragons to Daedra, from undead to immortals, seeking our deliverance. Our death. Yet, nothing lesser than a god was capable of killing us. As a Undead, simple basic needs were never needed and as a Chimera, cuts and wounds were overwhelmed by the proliferation of our flesh. Yet, somehow, you managed to deprive us of breath and your servant had broken our bones with such force that we could not immediately heal. Could...could you be the one who would finally free us from our tormented existence? Could you be the one who would bring me, Cawdor Houjirn, to Sovngarde, the heaven of the Nords? If you are, then why have you denied our collective souls our right to death? Who are you? How is it we were aware of something as powerful as you?" It was not awe that filled his tone, nor was it fear. Hope was within it and Order felt like vomiting when he sensed the same thing that had made Paarthurnax such a disobedient subject.

Still, one man's flaw could be another four souls' control unit.

"You petty beings may know me as Order," he said in a mighty introduction, when the frontiers of air suddenly receded back in a swift contraction and as they retreated over the ground, the lilies reappeared, perfectly alright from their vanishing act. It was a simple deed for Order but it amused him greatly to see weak-willed organisms astonished by the acts they refer to as 'godly', as it was with the once again amazed Cawdor. In truth, their viewpoint was just too small to comprehend what a 'god' is truly capable of. Taking advantage of the chimera's mental vulnerability thanks to their surprise, Order proceeded to project his voice not just throughout the room, but also into their minds.

"You do not seem to know your place, you half-dead beings. As you are trapped in your little box of what you three-dimensional ants call 'perspective', you forced upon yourself to call those who ruled the three dimensions as 'Gods' and denied within your minds the possibility of someone being even higher-up than that. You never heard about it nor have you seen it, so it never existed." Order noticed the minute shivering travelling through his victim's body and with much pleasure, he kept on pressing in.

"All those questions that you could not answer, you simply attributed it to a God; you never thought that someone else even more powerful would do it, nor were you even willing to admit the very existence of said questions. The Greeks asked, who caused lightning? It must be Zeus. The Early Christians asked, who created humans? It must be God. The Shenists asked, who created the universe? Why, it must be Pangu, of course, splitting the Earth and the Sky. Even Science is subject to this, with hypothesizes and theories that simply refuse to die even when disproven."

"Those were all the ideas that all you insects grasp so desperately onto. It's a little something called cognitive dissonance reduction. A pathetic but natural reflex to try to make sense of ideas that conflict your beliefs. Well, guess what, now that I am here, a fourth-dimensional being, your little denial is moot. Surely, your eyes are more trustworthy than that self-deceiving conscience of yours? And don't start calling me a 'God'. I shall set it down now: I am a Concept." Order's hidden smile widened more and more as he spoke, relishing the sight of the expression of twisted horror on the undead being's simmering face.

"Tell me, slug." The chimera gasped as they heard Order addressing them. Gazing up shakily at the Concept, the Nordic consciousness within known as Cawdor Houjirn felt his mental jaw slag in surprise at the Concept's question. At the same time, Collin gave a silent but nervous growl under his breath, his representing right hand twitching uncontrollably as Order's voice even charged through their nerves. Darc felt a real tendency to shut himself off and stop listening to the Concept, but the piercing echoes of the intruding voice pulverized the dwarf's mental defenses, sending perspiration creasing up between the clenched fingers of his left hand. The dark elf, Hrondil, leaned against the walls of the collective mind but as he tried to put on a show of indifference, he subconsciously bit his lower lip at frustration with the inability to deny the being in front of them.

The fact that Order's question sent tremors down the marrow of his legs was no help.

"Let's say if Sovngarde were to be suddenly wiped from the plane of existence, what would that squirming soul of yours do to prevent that?"

* * *

><p>Down in the deepest dungeon of Death City, a black-haired man kneeled over a prone body of a young stout boy, waiting in the wavering light of the lonely lantern in the dark-filled room. Poking at the body with a finger, Alduin could not help but give a sigh of relief at the sudden exhalation of breath from the kid, signaling that the kid was still alive. After all, he did not wish to add murder to the already lengthy list of charges that were rightfully against him. Especially if he just murdered his own grandfather.<p>

"Wakey wakey, ancient man. You don't think you will have much time before your possession incinerates that body into ashes and plasma."

"Ur...That hurt." The boy who was supposed to be the American climber Felix opened his eyes to reveal luminescent irises, the shallow white glow from them exaggerated by the tumultuous darkness that flooded the room. When his mouth opened, the boy gave out a deep, almost timeless voice vastly different from his true vocals. "By Concept's beard, Alduin, couldn't you have just let your grandfather of Time take his own sweet Time? It would have taken only a few more seconds."

"Yeah, like the same few 'seconds' that turned out to be minutes." Alduin stated rather flatly, though an amused smile was already on his face. It was felt good to see his grandfather again after all that has happened. Even if the Concept of Time had to possess Felix's body to allow them to communicate. In fact, even with the mental disorientation of trying to associate the young body in front of him with his grandfather, the young fallen god felt his heart ache at the opportunity to cry out his dilemmas and sorrows to his wise elder. That chance was right there in his face and all that was required to start it all off was a single tear. But when Alduin saw the sudden worried gaze from those previously youthful eyes, aged by the ancient persona behind the, he tried his best to stifle his tears and put on a brave front. After all, he reminded himself, this was the path he had chosen during the singularity.

"My child, are you-"

"I'm fine, grandfather. I've taken much more than this." As he heard his descendant's assurance, Time could not help but feel his heart pain. He had lived for billions of years and have interacted with humans ever since they became Homo Sapiens 200,000 years ago. He recognized the minute tremble in that boy's falsely firm voice, the brief spark of nostalgia in his eyes that tried to stay hard. He even noted the redness across Alduin's cheek that has been caused by the slaps of Cyril during her confrontation with him. Truly, the boy had been forced through such turmoil in an incredibly short amount of time. No matter how many years he had lived in the maddening stasis of the Void of Time, there was truly nothing Alduin could have done to make the pain go away. The fact that Time himself, an entity who has lived in that abyss since the beginning, could feel ache in his Concept heart watching his grandson suffer in silence was already a testament to that.

Indeed, Time sometimes questioned himself whether he should just ignore the rules the chains burden his body with and pull Order and Chaos into Time's Void and grind them into gravitons. At the same time, Time understood that that was a foolish idea, foolish beyond any other mistakes in Concept History. If history were to ever exist once he is deleted for defying the 'guide lines'. Right now, all he could do was to respect Alduin's decision and allow the boy to find his own way around. Time acknowledged that with a heavy sigh, "I guess I'll let you be."

"Besides that..." Time sported a smile as his face turned into an impressed expression, "how did you manage to deduce that I was using the human kid as a puppet so quickly?"

"I didn't." Alduin's voice could not have been more dead-serious. Surprised by this most unexpected of answers, Time sweat-dropped as he searched Alduin's face for any sign that the boy was pulling his leg, but he found none. Instead, Alduin was solidly stoic and nothing suggested that he was not being brutally honest. "All I knew that the little bra-I mean, kid was being controlled over and whoever was doing it was taking an embarrassingly long time to complete the possession. Even more humiliating given now that it is actually you, a Concept, and the strongest at that."

"And if it had been someone else?" As he responded, Time pretended to ignore Alduin's stark dig but the Concept's boyish face was twitching unsteadily in exaggerated annoyance. Alduin, in return, ignored his grandfather's visual cue signaling his irritation. Instead, Alduin was spending his time admiring his right arm, the harlequin green glow permeating from beneath its skin and flesh showing the glorious shape and strength of the draconic bones that hinted to Alduin's true form. Observing the tendons and muscles on his ligament as it flexed, Alduin gave a confident smirk as his fingers curled down into the lam to form a fist. Time's eyes widened as black light reflected off their irises, forming a murky sheen of black on them.

The smirk still on his face, Alduin closed his eyes in a brief reminiscence of what he has gone through all this time. The first thing that came most vivid to his mind was Cyril's crying face, the young girl weeping out on top of him as she slapped him out of his suicide attempt. Once he done, he will return the favor to her for that and not just by saving the world. The next image was Maka, her face both on the verge of tears and brimming with anger, the chestnut-haired Meister screaming at him in her breaking voice, "You told me all those things and now want to make me FORGET?" Indeed, now with hindsight being 20-20, Alduin could see that at that time he had been too callous, too brash, remaining waist-deep in his apathy towards mortals. And now he had brought her trouble in her world, there is much he will have to make up to Maka Albarn. Speaking of that trouble...

Alduin felt his shoulders shiver in cold sweat as the smirking Odahving appeared in his memories, along with all the sensation that Alduin had felt in the fight for his life against the newly bred Kishin and old friend. Whether he understood Odahving's ideology, Alduin did not know. Realizing this, Alduin felt a pang of regret at his apparent distance not just between him and humans, but also between him and the dragons that he had flown the skies with all the years before. For a moment, as Alduin considered Odahving's incredible prowess in the battle, he could not help but wonder whether he or the rest of this planet called Earth had any chance against Chaos.

But at that faltering instance, Alduin recalled something else. Something that he could fight towards in this war. In his mind, Alduin smiled at the sight of the tall proud man whose flowing beard exuded wisdom and power and in his wrinkled yet strong hands was held the same hourglass that had accompanied his father throughout the entirety of his time as Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time. With that remembrance, Alduin cringed slightly at the re-emphasis on the unnaturally empty feeling that resided in his soul, an indicator of the loss of the soul connection between him and his father. At the same time, Alduin turned to look at his grandfather, the Concept of Time in a child's body, and his smirk widened, his mind replaying the Concept's words. "He isn't dead." "You are just not confident in your own dad's abilities." Indeed, Alduin had most certainly been not. His father was still alive. Out there lost and distant from him, but alive.

To all these people and many many more, Alduin had in some terrible way sinned against them but in truth, none of them had truly sinned against him back. Instead, they had kept with him all this time, punished him when he needed to be punished and remained patient throughout all the time he had been what the humans would call a 'douchebag'. Cyril slapped him because he had refused to put himself down to the level of humans, remaining unreasonably on his godly pedestal. Maka screamed at him because he had bluntly dismissed her life goals and when she needed answers, he ignorantly abandoned her to struggle in her sea of dilemma without even giving her a lifejacket. Sure, one must resolve one's inner turmoil by one's own resolution but it would not hurt to have a little external help. As for Odahving, sure, he has sworn himself as Alduin's brutal and vicious enemy and has cleaved a death's path through Death City with hundreds dying by his hand. But still, somewhere Alduin hoped, no, had a hunch, that Odahving was under the puppet-strings of Chaos, guiding him mercilessly to do all those acts. Indeed, Odahving had always been claiming himself as a respecter of humankind and slaughter had never been his _modus operandi_. Maybe if he could just... Alduin smiled to himself at the sight of his hopes. True, these same hopes had led to the Skyrim Crisis that he was responsible for and his downfall from godhood. Not to mention 200 years of _that_. Hoping for possibilities resultantly became to have this threatening feel to him and he, as expected, had not dared for a long time to return to doing such things. However, right now, right here, Alduin could sense within himself a blanket of assurance on his soul, soothing his fears and worries. For once, he felt ready to hope just a tiny bit more.

After all, what sort of human would he be without hope?

"_Come...__let us ride the Ladder of Hope..." _**Lucifer.** _"Even those with Hope will have their hopelessness, the hopelessness when one faces an obstacle, to create their fear. The fear of failure. The fear of losing everything for placing hope. And when they use this fear to dig their powerlessness, a fifth element comes into action. The humans call it common sense. We call it Humanity..."_

"Humanity...you make it sound so easy to find, you old dog..." Alduin joked in a half-guffaw, as he looked up towards his fist raised in the air, Soul Focus working its magic around it. The black flames, shining in the accompanying green glow of his bones, danced gracefully in the darkness, their black shapes outlined against the similarly-coloured background by translucent white outlines, like light shining out from the edges of a solar eclipse. More vigorous than the flames, the electrical forks arched about their way around the fire as black tribal warriors enjoying themselves in this more energetic and intense ritual dance. Put together, Soul Focus portrayed its power and strength, as well as giving out the sensation of calm and readiness needed to use it. To Alduin, it was a beautiful sight and somewhere within, where the lighting and flames intersect, Alduin swear he saw the brief illusion of a wolf howling to the moon. "Is that what you and dad have been trying to teach me? If only you were here, I could have learned so much more, Lucifer. Out of everyone out there, I have sinned against you and Gospel the most."

"Ancient man," Alduin called out to Time, his voice not only serious, but with deathly conviction. "After we are done with one another, I hope you can use your Psijic Order to help out DWMA. Please, until I face my judgment and fight by their side freely again, make sure that everyone stays safe. That is all I am asking of you, grandfather, so please give me your word."

"I give you my eternal word," Time smiled assuredly, sporting the cute grin of young Felix. "And you will have my second word, grandson that I will find your father and my Junior as fast as possible. As it is our greatest trait and our worst flaw, we must look out for our own. This time, however, "our own" will be slightly different from past definitions. You will have my third word on that."

"Thank you." Alduin nodded with understanding in his eyes. His heart now relieved, Alduin grinned as he thought to himself behind closed eyelids. No, not just to himself, but to everyone that are now part of "his own". 'Wait for me, everybody. Stay alive and wait for me. If any of you die while I am away, I will kill myself at your grave.'

'And I would go to hell and drag you back up with me.'

**So that's it! The end of Book 2: Rising Odahving! I really had been looking forward to this and I hope that I have not been too long with this update! Thanks to those who viewed and supported my works and many kowtows to the OC submitters. You guys have been a great source of inspiration and imagination. As of now, the poll of the third book has shown that titles "Chaotic Order" and "Comatose Akatosh" are equally at the lead so those who want their preferred title on the third book, please go to my page by clicking my author name and participating in the poll.**

**As for the next few chapters, I will be heeding the review of LOW59 and will be continuing with character bios, after a long period of discontinuation. Also, I intend to keep up with Snippets of Randomness series as well. So in the languages that were responsible for the accents in this chapter, as well as others:**

**German: Danke! (Thank you!)**

**Japanese: Mata Kite kudasai! (Please come again!)**

**Scottish: FARE! (GO!)**

**Early English: Thou art a great audience!**

**Latin:** **Tibi gratias ago pro ens mea inspirationes! (Thank you for being my inspirations!)**

**And finally:**

**English: You guys have been awesome. For a long time, I have been getting consistent viewership despite my frequent delays and uncalled-for procrastination. It really makes me feel so guilty and warm in my heart at the same time, so I guess I should say: you readers deserve only the best from me! Thanks!**


	99. Extras: Thanatos Bio

**BIO TIME!**

**Name: **Thanatos

**Alias: **Mr.Coffin, Horseman of Death, Charon the Keeper of the Dead, The Pall-Bearer

**Affiliation:** Horseman of the Apocalypse (before), Himself (now)

**Species:** Unknown; Assumed Earth human

**Appearance:**

As described in the stories, Thanatos is a mysterious and intimidating man, or at least that is what people think he is. Standing at 1.73 metres, Thanatos is not exceptionally tall, with the hardwood coffin painted in shiny black and adorned with golden decoratives towering over him as he carried it. His skin is not unlike that of zombies, being deathly pale and glistening in the light, but what patrolled its surface was more of an aura of death rather than that of decay. Wisps of ghostly green steam permeate off it, negligibly blurring the vision of those looking at him. The muscles that flexed within him move with a professional style, showing no unnecessary movements beyond twitching in a very deliberate and threatening way. On his face, the frighteningly smooth and rounded attribute of his sin is made even more apparent, with the skin on his gaunt cheeks showing no signs that they were even affected by the depressions. His facial structure is powerful and tight but it was not brutal like a square-jawed person. Small thin lips were worn on his face as if they were more of a cosmetic; in fact, it felt that it would have been much more natural if Thanatos had no mouth at all. His black hair, a truly messy crop that unenergetically trickled over and around his face, accentuated Thanatos' eyes, which are probably the most notable feature of him. Unlike most humans, where their eyes usually begin with a white outer-rim, followed by their respective colored iris in the center, his comes with a black sclera, its color more overpowering than anything else on him, followed a sickening yellow iris that was exaggerated by the contrast. Furthermore, like the epitome of death he was, Thanatos had dull, dull eyes. When light shone on them, nothing was reflected to give any sort of glistening highlight of life to them. Instead, the same light was swallowed into the black sclera, as if it was a bottomless pit, where even light could only disperse into nothingness.

In his dress code, Thanatos is extremely similar in Alduin in his color palette, having shadowy black as the predominant primary and deep hues of grimy gray as the secondary. His top is simply a baggy hooded trenchcoat that reaches to his knees, with its collar unfolded such that it reaches up to Thanatos' ears and his hood usually casting a nebulous shadow upon his face, while allowing the yellow in his eyes to gleam through the blackness, every time he dons it. Thanatos also has his trench coat buttoned at the upper half, down till his navel, while leaving the rest of the coat below to open up and lie at the sides of his thighs. As for his lower body, Thanatos wore no recognizable piece of clothing. Note recognizable. Instead, pouring out from a levitating belt that was underneath the trench coat and strapped to his waist, were opaque plumes of black smoke, coiling around his legs in copious amounts, to the extent that it seemed that he had no feet at all and was instead an ethereal being, made up and supported by the mass of tendrils that clawed viciously at the ground every time he took a step. Most notable, however was the giant coffin that casts shades over him as it is strapped to his back by many chains that run across his chest in an "X" formation.

**Personality:**

Thanatos' persona is dark and matter-of-fact, as well as having many shades of arrogance that he alternates depending on the one he is talking to. He sees death as something that is to be played with in the palm of your hands and at the same time something to be respected. When he speaks, he never gives a very direct answer, choosing instead to give them in vague and inference-required words, though the meaning he intends to convey through is usually down-to-earth and practical, with a sliver of idealism within. He does things with a mysterious and confusing style and more than once he completely ignores people when they ask him for his intentions behind his actions. Regarding friends and other people, Thanatos has little care for such things, killing lives left and right if he sees it fit, and he is also extremely blunt whenever he comments that a person's situation would probably lead to their failure, or death or some other consequence that would be extremely serious. The back-lash that results from such a callous demeanor is nonchalantly waved away by Thanatos, the man very likely to repeat his point again in order to hammer even deeper into the memories of those he is talking to. However, a positive trait of Thanatos would be his dedication and adherence to the 'values' that he holds to his heart. Whether or not these 'values' mean the destruction of every single living thing, nobody knows.

In a fight, Thanatos starts out extremely casual, using his fists and legs to fight carelessly against his opponents, to the point that most opponents describe his movements as "slow" or "predictable" or even "clumsy". When he starts to get fired up for a fight, Thanatos would pull out_ Izanagi_, his sword, but even then he would fight in a snaillike manner, rarely taunting his opponent as he fights. Only when he starts to unleash his shockwaves and his speed dramatically increases will one be able to know that Thanatos has gotten serious. When he is in this state, his style of attacking is partially torturous and partially incapacitating, using a shockwave to 'shock and awe' his opponents, before unleashing a numerous number of small cuts or another shockwave to wrap his opponent in a infernal cocoon of pain. Finally, once his opponent is down, Thanatos taunts and lectures the opponent for one last time before killing his enemy with a clean and painless strike. Yet, even at this stage, this is not Thanatos' true showing of power.

That is only when he uses _Izanami_.

**History:**

As of now, not much of Thanatos' history has been thoroughly confirmed, nor will much of the confirmed parts will be revealed here till later chapters due to significant spoilers that will interfere and over-foreshadow the plot. So yes, there is one thing you can infer from here, Thanatos is not dead yet.

However, what you can learn is that Thanatos was once a servant and warrior for Shinigami, yet he was not classified as a Meister nor a Weapon.

Furthermore, Thanatos knows No Name personally, both as a colleague and one-sided rivals, with No Name possessing extreme hatred for Thanatos.

Thanatos has also a plethora of contacts and associates that no one knows how he managed to gather together, with people even wondering how someone of his _physical_ age could garner up such flood-like amounts of favours, deals and patronage in the conceivable span of his entire life. To these people, which he refers to as "strangers", he is known as simply the Pall-Bearer and the way he obtains information from them would be through slips of paper known as Death's Notes. In a manner similar to Tom Riddle's diary, written words on the paper seep in and fade entirely into it, reappearing on the paper's counterpart. (Yep, you should get the title reference.)

Thanatos has also faced Asura the Kishin down before and even before that he has slaughtered the initial seven candidates that were to make up the Eight Powerful Warriors or also known now as the Great Old Ones. He was rumored to have then called Shinigami's selection "amateurishly inadequate".

**Powers:**

**Soul Wavelength – **It is not a difficult inference to understand that Thanatos was simply playing around during the past few chapters. In fact, this shows many traits of his soul wavelength. First of all, to be able to fool people of his power level indicated an unprecedented manipulation and flexibility of his soul, allowing to him to mold it into any size and shape he wanted, as well changing the persona and fluctuations within it to make his disguise and concealment even more sophisticated. Furthermore, Thanatos' soul itself is considered in its default state to be totally invisible, with even Soul Perception users only seeing nothing more than darkness when scanning for his soul. Only when he willingly brings it down will they be able to see it and he can go even further by allowing non-users of Soul Perception, such as Xeal, to sense him as well. However, at its default state, Thanatos' soul is shaped as a simple ball, with its surface as clean as a perfect oyster pearl. As for its size and strength, Thanatos is one of top in this catergory, having his fully revealed soul to be at least as gigantic as a small country and even further, when angered, to expand to the size of a continent. While Alduin's planet-sized soul dwarfs Thanatos', the difference in density between the two is so wide such that for a good scale a full-powered Thanatos to easily pummel and blitz twenty Alduins with nothing more than his fists.

**Biology – **Once again, Thanatos possesses biological traits that are super-human, even alien in some eyes. The thin skin on his palm was hard enough to grab and block Xeal's greatsword from cutting it, let alone the skin on the rest of his body. His physical durability is astounding, with bones taking hits equivalent to tank shells with little bruising nor was his footing destabilized by Fritz's cannon shots, despite them being point-blank. Furthermore, when durability and toughness fails, Thanatos possesses a regeneration factor that is equivalent and sometimes superior to a Black-Blood user or even a Kishin. Probably most astounding however, is the fact that he could do all this and fight so casually while having a large heavy coffin strapped uncomfortably to his back!

**Izanagi – **A two-handed broadsword that is named after the male Japanese kami of creation and birth. The black-colored blade seems similar in color to Alduin's Day Star and previously Lucifer but at closer inspection, one might notice that the black on the metal is in fact irregular and consists of so many different shades of black and gray that the blade could be described as 'dirty and unclean'. Even worse, the sides of the blade had tiny pieces of the metal chipped off, whether by wear or battle, leaving the blade with an irregular edge, as well as a very ill-maintained look. This contrasts sharply with the blade's name, where Izanagi is known to be a pure and clean deity and had rejected his wife Izanami when he found out that she had been tainted and corrupted by the stains and filth of the underworld. Here, it is the contrary. Due to the fact that Izanagi is the first weapon pulled out by Thanatos, it is frequently assumed by many to be his only one, much to their detriment.

**Izanami – **A giant coffin strapped to the back of Thanatos through the use of shiny metallic chains, that form a X across Thanatos' chest. Named after the female Japanese kami of destruction and death, the coffin is surprisingly spotlessly clean, with its hardwood frame properly smoothened and lacquered, while the black paint that covered it was applied with a masterful hand and still remains unscratched even when exposed to the elements on Thanatos' back. Intricate gold ornaments are decorated onto the coffin, including metallic corner-pieces in the form of three-pointed prongs, with the center encompassing the corner, as well as a golden band that encompassed the vertical length of the coffin, going around the top before going around the botton, delicately detailed with the images of horses, angels and demons, with the left side in merry-making and the right side in outright war. Finally a large stylized "I" is glued onto the coffin's cover, finishing up the coffin's beautiful and elegant look. If only people were not so fretful over the fact that it is a coffin, they might have admitted that it was a coffin suitable for a king. Or a god.

**Shockwaves – **Thanatos' unique Soul ability. With the speed and impact equivalent to a condensed Vajra shot, Thanatos can fire off circular bursts of pure killing intent that not only physically wipe away his opponents, but sabotage them mentally as they experience the intense fear that comes with facing such an overwhelming amount of murderous force. It can be released with little to no telegraphing and hence it is almost unavoidable due to both its speed and radius. The shockwaves are also tangible enough to affect the natural surroundings, acting as actual shockwaves with enough power to crack the roof of Cyril's house, but unable to outright destroy it. At full-power however, this becomes a totally different story. With a simple playing on human nature, Thanatos uses his natural shockwave to instill incredible amounts of fear in his opponent. Immediately after however, his opponents cannot help but respond against the fear with murderous intent of their own, in a sort of fight-or-flight reaction, and thus in turn spawns uncontrollable shockwaves from them, which not only hurt them even more but drastically escalate the level of Thanatos' devastation. The shockwave and effect generally weakens with each consecutive burst but if a victim's inherent fear is already at a very high level, then the level of impact from his shockwave could very well be more powerful than the one that caused it. This form of shockwave can even cause a chain reaction of them to happen, devastating an entire army in seconds if they are not prepared.

**Hope you guys like this biography of my own OC, Thanatos, and probably you guys can guess a bit more about who he really is. Up next on the list would be Nobie, the long-hidden wallflower who has many secrets to himself.**


	100. Extras: Nobie Bio

**BIO TIME!**

**Name: **Nobie

**Alias: **The Little Boy With the Book

**Affiliation: NO ONE!**

**Species: **Human

**Appearance: **

Nobie is a little child who is only at the age of 3047 days, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 7 seconds (that's 8 years, 4 alternating months, 5 days, 9 hours and 12 seconds right now). This makes him the youngest character out of the entire cast in the series. Not that that is strange, since the cast includes Concepts that are at least as old as the universe(making them at a whopping 13 750 000 000 years), or at a less ridiculous scale, certain dragons who were 100 000s of years old.

Standing at a puny 3 feet and 11.9 inches, converting to a standard scale of 1.20 meters , Nobie has everything about him that emphasizes his minute age. His diamond-shaped face (24 centimeters or 9.448 inches tall) is slightly plump and round, especially around his cheeks, being about 16 centimetres or 6 inches from cheekbone to cheekbone, along with the soft fat from his babyish years still over said bones, protecting his face from having any sort of definition whatsoever. All in all, it gives him a very cute, almost chubby look. His short, neatly kept hair has a straight fringe falling short of his brows by a minuscule gap of 5.462 millimeters It also has a chocolate brown colour that follows the web colour code of [663 300], which is in turn similar to his complexion, the latter being lighter by just a shade, being [996 633]. As for his big round eyes, they are a light youthful silverfish-gray of the web colour code [CCC CCC] that sparkle in states of happiness or occasionally become exaggerated stars of the yellow [FFF F00] when the little kid is especially excited.

The clothes that Nobie wears do not usually have a set pattern, since as a child and one who has very lit_tle_ exposure to the addictive marketing strategies of media and gender enforcement, he knows very little about fashion and the perceptions of the society. One should not forget that, despite his social retardation, he is very aware that he is a boy, so yes, he does not wear skirts. That is of course unless he starts getting Irish tendencies. Hail the kilts!

**Personality:**

Now, as you should kind of have guessed from the description of his appearance, that Nobie is no normal child. In fact, the first thing you should notice is the numbers and the colour codes. They are all placed at an unsettling amount of precision and accuracy that you as the reader would not even care to hear about nor do you even try to notice in real life. I most certainly do not try to measure and count out the frequency at which the blade in my fan is spinning while it is on the 'fast' setting, nor do even try to count how many millimeters my feet is from the leg of my desk. However, unlike us sensorially inept and tragically lazy normal human beings...,

Nobie does notice the little details around him that we take for granted. Everything around him is surgically analyzed and observed with exact precision and the way his brain processes the sensory information that comes through is at a much more thorough and sophisticated manner compared to us; it can even be considered as a higher-order way of perception. Note: I say perception, not thinking. The backlash from this huge intake of observations and hard cold measurements is the inability for Nobie to come to a conclusion beyond the ridiculously simple 'yes' and 'no'. Essentially, he can answer all questions about facts but when he needs to utilize reasoning and interpretation, things get a lot messier for him.

The worst impeder, however, is probably the one that is placed upon his emotions. Emotions are a difficult thing to formulate and nurture, requiring complex processes that begin with exploring the gut feeling you get from facing a certain piece of stimuli, followed by applying social interpretations and impressions provided to you by your sources of social rules, along with trying to explain why you feel that way and then judging whether you think that feeling is good. Sometimes many times, it can simply be down to instinct.

Many initial displays of emotion when we are month-old infants are hugely based on primal instinct (I am hungry, therefore I feel compelled to be sad to highlight my hunger to my parents so I can take advantage of their reaction. Yes, babies are devious schemers.). But even then, Nobie cannot do that. Instincts are usually reflexes that are attributed to specific stimuli but because Nobie chokes himself with stimuli and information that the brain never even considers, that it simply obliterates whatever innate reflexes he has due to none of them actually having an answer to any of these useless stimuli, thus reducing their effectiveness in the perception of his mind.

While instincts are second nature to every sentient being in the world, because his brain has changed its wires to remove the instincts that did not directly answer his stimuli, it in turn effectively just removes almost every single instinct in his head. Some extremely necessary instincts are of course still there, such as drinking and eating. The key ones that he does lack would be the instincts that directly connect to his emotions, minus excitement since it can answer to anything (you can get excited over anything), as well as his instinct to sleep (The internal stimuli to sleep is actually very subtle and slow, by using adenosine, a compound that through its amount keeps track of how many hours you are awake. You really do not notice it until you are deprived yourself by a great deal. Sleep is also influenced by your biological clock as well as your perception of light and darkness. These two factors combined result in the production of melanin during times of darkness, causing you to feel drowsy.). However, the fact of the matter is, even without the instinct to sleep, what reminds him that he needs sleep are a bunch of chemicals and biological compounds that his brain cannot simply remove. Therefore, yes, he will eventually sleep. But only after a long time of keeping him awake and then finally falling over into unconsciousness mid-activity as his brain finally could not take the sleep debt he has accumulated.

What's even worse is that 1, he has to sleep a rather long time to repay this sleep debt and disperse the chemicals affecting him, and 2, he lacks the instinct to wake up once said sleep debt is repaid. Therefore, the length that this boy sleeps can range radically from a single day to a week.

The most important instinct that is kept with him, however, surrounds the usage of his diary.

In an absolutely over-arching answer to every single piece of stimuli, Nobie has developed one instinct: which is to record what he observes in his diary, which (for reason of the plot) possesses an absurd amount of an infinite pages, all neatly packed, but worn with age, in the hammerspace dimension of the size of a simple notebook. It has thus became the most important thing in his life, with the boy relying on it for his answers and explanations in the form of an unknown female voice, which guide him and make judgments for him as well.

The only explanation it could not give him however was the very reason behind the existence of the book itself and how did it even manage to generate a voice in the first place. But then again, Nobie simply does not have the time to even create that question in his over-perceptive head.

(Note, however, that to ensure story cohesion and quality, I will not be using Nobie's perceptiveness as extensively as I did in the description of his appearance. It will be there but will more toned down, so that it does not become too jarring a style to the story's general fluidity.)

**History:**

**[Mostly blank due to huge spoilers from revealing his past]**

I'm really sorry about this but the only thing I can give you(you guys who have read about him first should know already), that if you flip the letters of his name, it spells eiboN.

Obviously there is a connection between the kid and the Mighty Sorcerer/Wizard who was one of Shinigami's Great Old Ones. Note, though, that is essentially hundreds of years between the two. I'm not sure of Eibon's lifespan but given he disappeared in between the thousand years for a very long time, the two were separated by a very long period of time. So if you think Nobie is his son, then that's a big 'No!' to that theory.

Furthermore, one more hint I can give you is first of all, the obvious comparison between Nobie's diary and Eibon's The Book of Eibon. The Book of Eibon (I'm basing on the chapters within it) is used to record the inner complexities of mankind, specifically in their sins, impulses and ways of thoughts, along with the normal parts that have Eibon's brilliance and his inventions. Nobie's diary is used by Nobie to record what he sees through his senses and what he writes in it are the rainbow of details on the physical displays around him.

I.E.

Eibon: "X displays hostility and aggression at Y, for he suspects Y to be having a disapproved relationship with his wife. Thus deprived of his exit vector of male dominance and subverted of his authority, X feels threatened by Y. Correction: X fears Y. X also finds himself comparing himself to Y compulsively. Frequently results in him being inferior."

Nobie: "Male X shakes hand of man Y with a grip with a total force input equivalent to a person swinging a sledgehammer, akin to 1000 pounds of force. His eyebrows are tilted inwards at 45.2 degrees and the corners of his lips alternate between angles of 10. 57 to 30.22 degrees downwards with a frequency of 10 movements per second. His iris, when directed at Y, are dilated by a percentage of 186 percent, while his pupil has contracted by 120 percent while visibly shaking within a minute range of 1.32 centimeters."

**Abilties:**

**Extreme Perception - **An unusual trait from an unknown origin, Nobie possesses a ridiculous amount of perception that thoroughly analyzes his surroundings to degrees equivalent to that of super-computers. The speed at which he does this is also fast for someone of his age and mental capacity and the things he observe also receive priority that should not have been even there. Therefore, unless you are directly out of his line of sight, Nobie can notice and perceive almost everything about you that is physically visible. The only problem is coming to a conclusion from his observations, something which people theorize can be possible if his already powerful mind were to develop even further with growth.

**Practiced Artist - **While Nobie himself initially was not that wonderful an artist, his own endeavors in recording some of the things that he sees along with his own detailed precision has allowed him to develop his artistry skills to a very large degree and while he might not be the next Da Vinci, his drawings are so visually realistic that recognizing what he is drawing is exceptionally easy if you know the content in the first place.

**And that is the biography of Nobie, the inverse Eibon and the most powerful analyzer in the world. His purpose in the story? Hmm...while I cannot reveal the full details, my idea for this little child would be an observational support for Alduin, not just in the physical battles but also in his mental state. Don't you ever just want to reveal your inner demons to a person who absolutely knows nothing about you and possesses not a single figment of judgement against you? The effect will be even greater if said person comforts you with just cold and in-your-face observations about you, instead of honeyed conclusions that might or might not completely misunderstand your stance. In my opinion, there is a greater heart in figuring out yourself based on the observations from someone else, rather than having that self-analysis handed to you on a silver platter.**

**So this is the end of this series of biographies and up next Morrow would be the first chapter of Book 3: Chaotic Order**


	101. Chaotic Order 1: That Colour

_**Yet each man kills the thing he loves**_  
><em><strong>By each let this be heard<strong>_  
><em><strong>Some do it with a bitter look<strong>_  
><em><strong>Some with a flattering word<strong>_  
><em><strong>The coward does it with a kiss<strong>_  
><em><strong>The brave man with a sword.<strong>_

_-Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol_

* * *

><p><em>"Odahving...Odahving..."<em> That voice...It sounded barely human.

"Urgh...what? Who are you...?"

_"This is your CONSCIENCE speaking...As your all-knowing moral compass, I implore you to suck it up and apologize to Alduin..."_ This voice was slightly different. Its tone was more respectful and yet annoyingly smug. If you tried to imagine a face behind it, you would probably come up with the image of a rich-looking man, whose arrogance was only matched by the how many coins he has in his personal vault.

"Huh? Con...science? Moral compass? A-a-apology? What in the world are you talking about...?" He felt annoyed. This person was seriously getting on his draconic nerves. "Are you trying to screw with me?!"

_"No."_ This time, the voice was serious and cold, simply stating one word with complete finality.

"Then wha-"

Suddenly, a kid's voice, energetic and mischievous, was next in line. "Nah, I changed my mind. Seriously, I'm just kidding. Yes, I am screwing with you."

"What!?"

Shocked by the unusual voice's sudden out-of-nowhere admission, Odahving, the dragon-turned-young-man whose red blaze-like hair was pressed between his head and the floor, opened his eyes in order to try and get a glimpse of whatever was talking to him. Instead, what reflected in his crimson irises was a total plane of white. In his vision towards the sky as he laid on the ground, Odahving blinked uncomprehendingly at the entirely white ceiling. It was not even white with the slashes of gray that usually indicated the edges of cloud. It was not even the type of blinding white that you would expect from the sun. It was just...white.

Aw for Alduin's sake! For the sake of not needing to repeat the word 'white' and bore me and you readers to death with the white exterior of the whitey whiteness blocking our now white vision with all its white, let's just refer it as '_that colour'_. It would surely save all of us the trouble from needing to tolerate with the word.

In fact, it was _that colour_ that smeared the entire ground when Odahving turned his head to take a better look of where he was. It was _that colour_ that hid the horizon away, such that when Odahving stared towards where the line that supposedly marks the end of his vision was expected to be, nothing else was there other than that _that colour_.

Okay, let's just state this outright. Odahving was lying in and now standing, since he had gotten up from the ground, on a world of entirely _that colour._

For the few minutes he spent trying to understand the over-abundance of _that colour _around him, the young man also spent the time trying to remember what had happened. It felt like he had been asleep, only for a very long time. If he could remember right, he was pursuing the one who claimed to be the Dragonborn into that dark alley, surrounded by the taunting words from that spectre's voice. Yes, that's right. He clearly remembered his feet Before that, he recalled walking Lucifer around the city due to excessive peer pressure essentially forcing him without any other choice. Way before that, he helped destroy Ahzidal together with Stein and the Death Scythe pervert. Furthermore, he even remembered Ahzidal's words: that the second-in-command always takes down the leader. Even now it is shaking him to his core.

Thank god, he has not done that to Alduin. Or he would never be able to forgive himself.

Yes, that's right. A little bit more is coming back to him. Searching his memories as gear by sluggish gear finally began to wake up from his slumber, Odahving scratched his head as he continued standing there in wonder. He remembered the Dragonborn's offer of betrayal. Back then, the Dragonborn managed to stun him with the Dragonrend and bring him into some illusionary rendition of the backhall of Dragonreach where Odahving had once been captured by the Dragonborn.

In a pretty much distorted rendition of that past experience, Odahving was captured by the Dragonborn once again, only this time it was human against human. Something different happened as well. Instead of the deal of alliance the actual Dragonborn had given him back at the actual Skyrim, the fake had instead implored Odahving to take the Ebony Blade and strike her down.

At the same time, she was trying to manipulate him to betray Alduin. Such audacity! As if he was gonna stupidly let a warning from Ahzidal to turn into reality so easily! Even if a world that was completely humble and equal was offered as an award to him, Odahving would never dare to simply backstab his leader and long-time friend at a whim.

Clearly, Odahving remembered that he had decided to strike the very clearly fake Dragonborn down so that he could quickly return back to Alduin. Even now in his memories, he could still remember the image of the Ebony Blade heading for the fake's head. That is itself proof that he most definitely killed her. If that were true, he must have found some way to get out that creepy illusion of Dragonreach and got back to his friends and Alduin, probably telling them about everything that had transpired as well. Problem is...

He does not remember that.

Certainly, he could find in his memories the image of him swinging the blade down at the fake but the memory of her dead defeated body and the image of him returning back to Death City and back to the safety of his company simply did not exist in the databanks that had stored the memories he had carried as a dragon for thousands of years.

Surely, he could not have forgotten something as important as him defeating the imitator of his greatest companion or the eyes of the fake that he definitely remembered having attempted to totally ignore. For a long while, he had already known that the real Dragonborn was deep and digested in Paarthrunax's belly (a thousand curses to the traitor for doing that) and hence he was only minimally troubled by his confronter's brash imitation of the long dead hero. So obviously, he MUST have killed that fake. Yet somehow, Odahving did not feel very convinced.

Furthermore, there were even more questions. Where was he? Where in the world is this place of _that colour_? And who was that-

Ah yes. He could find out more via that way. Call for the owner of the voice that was taunting him. He would most probably get a response and in turn some answers. So cupping the sides of his mouth to amplify his voice, Odahving focused both the power of his Thu'um and his voice's natural draconic volume to everywhere around him.

"HEY! THE ONE WHO SAID YOU WERE SCREWING WITH ME! YEAH, I AM TALKING TO YOU! I KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE IN THIS WORLD OF WHITE! GET DOWN HERE! I'VE GOT A FEW QUESTIONS FOR YOU!"

_"A few...questions?"_ Another voice came out, resounding through the '_that colour_' air that permeated through in this '_that colour_' world. This time it was a grandfather's voice, cool and emotional, yet slow as if dragged down by the mountains of knowledge that was behind it. That was not the voice Odahving was looking for.

Despite the fact that we readers know better, Odahving believed that it was actually a multitude of personas that were talking around him. He was not benefited with the amount of background knowledge that was granted to us thanks to reader omnscience. And so, shaking off his surprise at the unexpected reply, Odahving recupped his mouth as he shouted out for the child's attention. "I MEAN THE ONE WITH THE CHILD'S VOICE! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

_"You mean me, sweetie-pie?"_ A woman's voice. Sounds like a prostitute or entertainer. Seductive and provactative. Very very different from a child's. Odahving knew that she was definitely not-

_"Or me?" "Or me?" "Maybe me?" "How about me?" "Oh, you are so talking about me!" "Me?" "What do you want with me?" "Surely you are not referring to me?" "Why me?" "Don't try to bother me!"_

Wait a minute. Odahving's jaw dropped agape as the cacophony of the multitude of voices, each highly different, began to rise and howl around him, their mouths invisible behind the world-shaped shroud of _that colour_. Every one was distinctly bearing their own identity, each with a characteristic tone that defined their person. Yet somehow within the chaotic whirlwind, they were all synchronized, eerily in-tuned, like the many musicians, from violinists to trumpeters playing together on the orchestra, led by the dancing stick of the conductor, who remains silent as he guides throughout the melodies his colleagues play. At the same time, that analogy could only reflect half of what Odahving faced.

_"You hooting for me?" "What you want from me, matey?" "You asked for me, right? I'm listening." "You calling for me?" "Understood, sir. What do you request from me, sir?" "Have me done wrong, master?"_

In here, in this world of this colour…

_"Were you looking for me?" "I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, but what would a worm like you want from me?" "I'm sorry for being late. Please forgive me." "I'm a very busy man. Call me later, okay?"_

The conductor, the musicians, the orchestra, they were all one and the same. One being, taking on a chaotic blend of voices, that now spiraled out of control as the voices begin to increase in frequency and the variations between grew more extreme. Their difference was at first only with regards of gender, tone and words but as it continued on, pitch, speed, volume, emotion or the lack of it, everything that could be changed in a voice began to change.

"Who…are…..you….?" Odahving stammered in his held breath, as he cupped his ears, stuffing his thumbs into them in an attempt to block out the jarring and overwhelming sea of vocals. Yet it was no avail. As if they were that of angels, sent down to decree the laws of the Christian God, the voices brutally bypassed those physical barriers and manifested their full volume in his vulnerable mind.

Vehemently shaking his head left and right, Odahving tried to throw the incessant voices out of there, but to no avail. They were like a horde of bees, only getting monstrous and more monstrous with each additional member, their stingers ending plasma blazing through the nerves. His body was spasming, nerves were jittering as barrage after barrage of whispers, hollers, threats, empathy, outbursts, shyness bashed his mind again and again. In the end, Odahving had to do it. He hated having to do it but he just so wanted to scream.

"WHOOOO ARRREEE YOOOUUU?!"

….

….

….

Silence. As if his voice had just smacked the orchestra conductor in the head and took his stick, Odahving, whose eyes had been closed in a vain try to focus on getting the voices out of his head, slowly allowed his eyelids to slid open when he begun to notice that in a flash, all the voices had just…..disappeared. For the moment, a slow-growing smile appeared on his face as he shook his head in happy disbelief. _What in the world just happened?_ That question appeared briefly in the spotlight of his mind before the relishment of the relieving silence washed it away to the back.

Rubbing his ears as he looked left and right in the still unchanged world of that colour, Odahving breathed a sigh of relief, patting himself in the back. Whatever, whoever or whyever that was, it had ended its torturous experiment on him. Hopefully it would be the last time he would have to experience that.

Still, Odahving hesitantly reminded himself, the fact that there were voices pointed to the prescence of someone or something watching him standing alone in this endless space that seemed to only comprise of this colour. And the only way that he could get their actual attention for a way out of here, would be to call them. And risk being massacred once again in that vocal onslaught.

Just thinking about it seemed to send every bone in his human body vibrating to their marrow and the temperature almost seemed to fall down several degrees. The fear of it from that single experience truly was intense.

Yet Odahving knew that he had no other choice. What can he do anyway? Either shout out for someone at the danger of another mob of voices or stay silent and be confined in this seemingly exitless world for what could very well be forever. The correct course of action was obvious. Even with the mental wounding that those voices had left on his sorry state of mind, Odahving bit his lower lip and sucked up his fear. If he was to go batshit insane in this endeavour, so be it. At least, he would be able to get back to Alduin and company, warn them about what was coming and probably prevent a possible attack on Death City. Who knows? Even if he was going to die on the last leg, Odahving knew it was his responsibility as one of the few people who could stop everything from falling apart. At least, he owed that much to the Dragonborn to try and be a hero. He just hope no one will lavish him with praises and flowers; he never really understood how to react to such compliments. It will just feel NOT like him to accept them, yet it would be very rude of him to deny someone waniting to assure and encourage him.

Let's just hope that does not happen.

"Alright, I got this…" Odahving gave a deep breath of preparation as he stared up towards that coloured sky, almost expecting full-fleshed mouths to suddenly appear and open on it, ready to summon their painful rampage upon him. "Time to get home." Odahving whispered as he removed the teeth off his lip, his fiery eyes cringing so slightly in the pain that was left in the teeth-shaped indents. Sucking in his breath, Odahving pushed in his stomach as he tried to shout as loud and as demanding as possible. "I WA-"

**Song: Johnny Cash - Hurt**

A guitar. Just as he was about to give out another demand for questions, Odahving paused mid-shout as his ears perked up at the melancholic sound of a guitar being played. It was a lone, sad one. There was no other instrument being played and the melody it was giving out was that of a simple and heavy sadness. Surprisingly, it did not echo around in this prison of that colour. Instead, it was clearly from one direction and when Odahving turned towards it, his eyes widened in shock at what was an incredible break in that colour of the world.

Sitting there, with its back towards Odahving, was a lone silhouette sitting on a chair, far far away from the young man. It's right arm, or at least from his distant and vague perspective, its right shoulder, was bobbing up and down as its fingers were most likely strumming through the strings of the guitar. 'Who in the world is that?' Odahving frowned as he begin to step forward towards the silhouette. "HEY!" He called for its attention but whatever he was calling towards did not turn its head. It just sat on its chair, strumming the sad song away on its guitar, too obsessed in its activity to notice the one walking towards it.

Realizing that the distance between him and the silhouette was extremely large, at least three hundred metres and so, despairing that this might be the world conductor's one-in-a-lifetime chance to him, Odahving begin to shout out more frequently as his legs begin to move faster, taking stride after stride with decreasing intervals, eventually breaking into a desperate sprint as they bring him towards the silhouette. At first, Odahving thought it might be one of those torturous jokes that involved the distance between him and the silhouette being forever the same no matter how much he ran and as that guitar played on, its ghoulish volume slowly rising, its haunting tone of despair and depression carried on, it pushed Odahving further to stress and worry, forcing him to shout,"TIL!".

But even as time slowed in response to his shout, the song continued on at its normal pace, its timeless nature as a man's last song forbidding even time from interfering with its passage. Thankfully, Odahving saw that the silhouette he was running towards was getting larger and larger, meaning that his effort to run was paying off. Invigorated by the progress, Odahving determinedly gritted his teeth as he charged on. As he kept on going, as the figure he chased continued on strumming its guitar, Odahving somehow felt an eerie feeling run up his spine, like as if he was running into a trap. But what sort of trap could a guitar, a silhouette and a world of that colour produce to faze him? Surely nothing more worse than that vocal maelstrom. Dismissing the sensation, Odahving eagerly kept on running, his mouth opening and closing to either shout for the silhouette's attention to no avail or apply another layer of Time Slow as the last one faded away.

It was only about a hundred metres that the figure he was heading for opened its hidden mouth. To sing.

_**I hurt myself today to see if I still feel**_

What in the world? Odahving asked himself mentally as he quickly stopped himself from pausing in surprise. Conversely, he redoubled his efforts to get the guitarist, wondering whether the song was beginning to mark the leave of the unusual stranger. He could not allow that. Everyone depended on him.

_**I focus on the pain**_

Everyone depended on him. He could not fall now. Feeling the heated stress reaching his overworked and still unused muscles, Odahving cringed a bit as he gave out a cry of valour and kept on running.

That was when the first wave hit.

_**The only thing that's real.**_

All of a sudden, the uttering of that phrase seemed to trigger something in Odahving's mind and as the cogs begin to click and turn, Odahving kept on running as he tried to ignore the sensation like last time and he kept on giving himself big and fast strides in a hot sprint to the figure. Yet, somehow he could not ignore it. He just could not ignore what was beginning to form in the vision of his mind.

_**The needle tears a hole**_

"_Wouldn't it be so much better if there were more 'you'?__"_

What? That voice? That was the Dragonborn's voice. No, that was the fake. When in the world did she say this? NO, focus on getting there! Odahving reminded himself as he shook himself from the lurking images that now begin to form one by one in his mind, as he mindlessly kept on charging for his destination.

_**The old familiar sting.**_

"_He's evil and yet we allow him to live on in our memories. Why should we?"_

No, no. What in the world is this? Odahving's eyes widened in shock as his sprint begin to slow, his mind unable to understand what he was seeing in front of it. Him talking to the fake Dragonborn, clearly without the Ebony Blade in hand. As if on cue at his notice, Odahving saw another image of the Ebony Blade spinning out on Dragonreach's floor before falling out over the balcony into the depths. Is that a memory? As he tried to keep the memories coming in, the guitar played on in its now chanting chorus, its player continuing on with his song.

"_Let everyone disappear from history and even make history cease to exist."_

_**Try to kill it away**_

_"Humble one...receive the gift of chaos..."_

No. No way. He is…..kneeling in front of the fake!? Odahving gasped in horror as he realized the beginning sliver of what he had done. As he gawked disbelievingly at the now revealed Fragment of Chaos placing its ugly hand on his bowed down head, his strides begin to shorten and shorten, his pace slowing down to a jog. The guitar kept on and as the pain of the Chaos conversion wrecked him left and right, Odahving could not shout out a word of "Stop!" to the figure, as it begin its next phrase.

_**But I remember everything.**_

It was almost instantaneous. As his jog now slowed down to a fast walk, Odahving's jaw slackened and dropped at the flooding memories now pouring in, revealing to him what he had become and what the Fragment of Chaos told him to do. To fight everyone in Death City, extract information from Death about No Name and then kill everything on the city. Wipe it off from the city. Afraid of what was inevitable, Odahving tried his best to push out the memories that came in one after the other. But it was no avail. He knew he did just that.

"_Don't you understand how crazily dangerous it is to whack someone on the head?"_

That's not him. That's just not him. He is himself, a good-natured dragon, with a respect for humanity and the world and an understanding of what it means to be humble. Not this trench-coated son of a bitch dragon that has his face, smirking on it, and looking at everyone with hostile and maniacal eyes, with one a purple-edged black hole. THAT'S NOT HIM!

_"All of you can't survive in the new world. I won't allow it."_

Odahving felt his horror reach new levels as he witnessed from his eyes his arm outstretching and giving a finger-flick towards Black Star and an unknown Motorcycle Weapon charging at him, blowing them away with tremendous force as he caused more destruction with that simple movement than Ahzidal ever did in his dragonoid form. Bricks, support poles, foundations and glass were disintegrated under the colossal showing of power, accompanied by the sound of regretful thunder. God knows how many people were in that entire row of houses!

"Please stop." Odahving begged as tears begin to form as his fast walk begun to slow down to a medium speed. The guitar played on, oblivious to his pleas. "PLEASE STOPPPPP!' But it just played on.

_**What have I become?**_

Odahving knew the answer to that, as he witnessed himself coercing Stein to join him in his Chaotic crusade, as he saw him fighting fervently and maniacally with the vengeful Death, as he saw him get caught and encircled by the Nine Circles of Hell by Lucifer, as he saw him taking Excalibur-turned-Arondight in hand and smashing the structural form taken by Lucifer into pieces, killing the dog. Murder. He just committed murder. It can't be…..It can't be….

_"My my...you look so much better without your mask!"_

His gait slowing down to a crawl, Odahving's eyes turned bloodshot as he devastated Death, blowing apart Death's Kishin Hunter and unleashing the black ball that he now knew as the technique Undefined Space. The roar of the massive bomb sent his breathing to a halt and the laughter that HE gave out as he unleashed it made Odahving feel like he could puke at his mercilessness. His irises narrowed at the blood-freezing and heart-stopping sight of him torturing Death with his painful boot and his mouth opening to consume the hundreds of poor souls that he had murdered heartlessly. It was all just so heartless and disgusting. Why in the world would he do this? WHY?

_"I assume you will have no last words..."_

Please no. Please no. Don't do it. Odahving felt himself begging desperately as he tried again and again to yell at his memories to change, himself now standing over Death with Arondight ready to execute. But it was no use. They were the past. His voice, while able to slow Time, cannot change history. That was when a tiny bit of hope appeared. At the sight of his blade stopping just at the forehead of the barely conscious Death, Odahving wondered whether he had managed to snap out of whatever weird rampage he had and regret what he did. Then a sense of foreboding ran down his spine. He knew what was going to happen next. And with that his spark of hope died.

_**My sweetest friend.**_

_"To be honest, I never thought you would wake up fast enough..."_

Alduin. Alduin, in his form of Wrath. Standing there behind him. It can't be. It can't possibly be….

And so Odahving came to a halt, just a metre away from the lone silhouette. He allowed it, knowing his helplessness, to play on with its songs. There was nothing else Odahving could do but watch as he pulled out Lucifer's dog tag and cruelly taunted with it right at Alduin. How morally low can he get? Why is he not thinking his values through? Strangely, a sense of relief came over him as he saw the sudden white-haired girl appearing out of Alduin's bracelet and punishing Odahving with a powerful gauntlet-armoured punch.

Now almost acclimatized to the sight of his horrendous actions, Odahving could only cring as he watched himself roundhouse kicked the girl named Gospel in the face, sending her flying away into a building. He felt himself try to warn Alduin to run away but once again he remained silent as his young leader stood up after tending to Gospel, the dog's collar now firmly in his hand. Surprise was something pleasantly new to Odahving when he witnessed Alduin send the leash down into a ripple in the ground and then pulled out the black Lucifer-like blade that Alduin shouted out as Day Star. Another sliver of hope came back, cheering on the assault by Alduin.

Yet somehow, he knew he had done it. That one horrendous act.

_"I can't agree with you more. For once we agree on something!"_

_**Everyone I know**_

_**Goes away in the end.**_

Odahving watched in horrified awe and stressful trepidation as he and Alduin did battle, each unleashing their attacks, one from Chaos and one from Soul Focus, at each other. Every time Alduin got an edge, he felt himself get a whoop and every time Odahving managed to pin him, Odahving himself felt his heart rate rise to the fearful maximum.

"_ODAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

And that laugh. It just freaked him out so much. To think he was now so mad with power, so obsessed with such a screwed-up goal. How much has he fallen? Did he really did it?

"_Here's a present! JOOR!"_

Stuck and wrapped terribly in his ever-growing questions that could only be answered by the end of the sequence of memories, Odahving felt himself scream mentally in fright and shock as he realized the edge he had over Alduin and powerlessly watched Alduin be brought down by the Dragonrend Shout, as painful tendrils ravaged his leader, no doubt deeply reminding him of his scarring defeat by the Dragonborn. As tears flowed endlessly down from his eyes and the now dull balls stung at the descent of the salty liquid, Odahving hushed his voice at the painful and depressing sight of his leader, felled by the torture-like powers of Dragonrend, being kicked repeatedly and crazily by him.

_"Why don't you get up and give a better fight?"_

_"Enough..."_

Enough. Yes, Alduin said it correctly. That was enough. Odahving opened his mouth in an attempt to scream for his leader's life but as he cried, the dreadful hiccups that accompanied the act killed off his voice. All he could do was to stand here, mouth agape, fists clenched beside him, helpless, hopeless, powerless as his past self raised Arondight over his head. The ground shook and the world seemed to have come to a halt. This was it. This was the deathblow by Odahving. He really did it. He must have killed him.

"_UNDEFINED….."_

This was truly the end.

_**You could have it all**_

_**My empire of dirt**_

What have I become? A murderer. A monster. A person that should never be forgiven. Everyone should be dead. Right here and right now. All because of him. Odahving thought as he sunk to the ground on his knees, his head resting against the back of the chair that the sole figure sat on, watching on in anticipation of what was to come.

But it did not.

Out of nowhere, as he watched on in surprise, a being of purple and pink, accompanied by a soothing song, smashed into Odahving as it stopped him from unleashing his fatal technique, sending him flying into the bare skeleton of a house, demolishing the structure as he crashed through. Was he stopped? Was his foreboding simply misleading him? It sure looked that way when the being suddenly solidified beside Alduin, revealing a blonde-haired girl with a set of emerald-green headphones, looking very much like a DJ. Odahving did not know who she was. It was clear, however, that somehow, he had been beaten back and that the tide might have turned.

Indeed, it seemed very much like that way when the girl rushed at him again and for a third time, Odahving felt hope everytime as he watched in amazement the Weapon of Sound phasing through his cuts and beating him about with both incredible speed and force. Not only could she summon purple miniature cyclones that crushed him from left and right. His wings, a demonic and unusual monstrosity attached to his back, were even beginning to break apart as he got owned every time they fought. Even when he managed to get a hold on her neck, the sudden screeching scream emitted by her caused Odahving to remember the Scream Resonance from Crona and his glimmer of hope begin to expand and grow into a star. Boom. Boom. Boom. Odahving was getting bitch-slapped, sliced, pulverized and charged repeatedly as this new powerful girl kept on her barrage.

The only major concern came to him when he suddenly turned his blade behind him, blocking a back-stab by the sound girl.

"_You can say that I was handicapped."_

Oh no...

_**I will let you down**_

He had even more power?! How is that even possible?! And yet Odahving could not deny it as the chains on Arondight's hilt broke apart. The coat of black swirling energy of Chaos engulfing the blade did not help soften Odahving's fear, as he watched horrified at himself disappearing into particles from the girl's charge and reappearing behind her to knock her out of her sound form with the back of his blade, sending the poor girl skipping over the battlefield ground, which was already smoldering and smoking from the violence that had ravaged. And that was made worse by Odahving's next attack, as the watching him gaped at Odahving's claim to move as fast as darkness and light. Incredulity never came to his mind. Right now, he understood about his Chaos self that whenever he made a claim, that claim would very well be true.

"_SHREDDING SPACE!"_

And sure enough, space around him warped and distorted as he picked up speed to the same velocity as he claimed and with his sword, slashed randomly about throughout everywhere he ran, no doubt causing mass destruction as he did this. Hand covering his gasping mouth, Odahving's eyes closed sadly at the sight of the battlefield and the houses around it shredded apart and even worst, the girl lying on the ground with a slash mark across her chest. She could not be dead, could she? She was the last chance at subduing himself.

The worry that his hope was extinguished, however, was overshadowed by fearful panic at the battered and weakened Alduin trying to stand up against Odahving. Why was he such an idiot?! PLEASE GET OUT OF THERE, ALDUIN! Odahving screamed mentally at his friend as he gasped at every strike he made at Alduin's head, the latter rolling around to dodge his strikes. Eventually, however, Alduin was eventually trapped between strikes, left lethally vulnerable to Odahving's executing strike. "Please." Odahving called out to the girl, who he noticed was still breathing at the side. "Please GET UP AND SAVE HIM!" Switching between the girl and him standing over Alduin, Odahving's fear rose and rose just like his readying blade. There was no way! THERE WAS NO WAY ALDUIN COULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE, LOOKING AT THIS! THERE IS NO-

"_Rhythm OVERLOAD!"_

Way? It can't be. Out of nowhere, as if she was fiercely determined to keep Alduin safe, the girl suddenly got up and unleashed a vicious set of cyclones at Odahving. At the same time, Odahving watched on in huge relief as Alduin, taking the chance, whacked the side of his head with Day Star, continuing on to roll out of the way of the sound girl's ferocious volley of attacks. As well as out of danger. That was two times. Two times that Alduin had managed to escape death from Odahving. Seeing the hope from this situation, Odahving felt himself relax. Seeing that he has been wrong on so many occasions, he must have failed to kill Alduin. Thankfully, he must have been overwhelmed.

_**I could let you**_

At first, that did not seem like a possibility at first, as Odahving released Ebony Space in retaliation at the cyclonic barrage, sending out a jet-black shockwave that devoured and engulfed the offensive tornados, before heading on towards Alduin and the girl, upturning the ground piece by piece as it charged on towards them. But Odahving knew that he was very likely wrong, given not only the failed attempts to predict the direction of his memories, but also the sight that the girl was now walking towards the approaching shockwave with a confident smile on her face. It meant that she had something perfect to counter it and end this entirely.

"GAKUDAN!"

That must be it. At first, the ripple from the glowing finger extending out in front simply expanded out. But the attack did not end there. Suddenly, in the blink of Odahving's eyes, he was engulfed and washed up in what could be a massive beam. He could not say for sure, because for his sight, all he could see was the envelopment of white completely dominating his vision, blocking everything outside from his eyes. And all he could hear was the playing of that enrapturing orchestra, playing that thunderous and yet epic classic that received a round of applause and shouts for another incredible encore.

That must be it. White everywhere. Crazy sounds. This must be that technique trapping him within and then torturing the madness out of him with those vocal attacks, bringing him back to normal. That's it. The memory loss was just him being shocked by the loss of his madness. That must be the correct answer. He must be in the technique right now and Alduin and that girl should be waiting for him to be cured. It all made perfect sense. He should be allowed out any minute now and back into the arms of his friends, where he could profusely apologize to Alduin for everything he had done and then allow himself to be punished as justified.

Sadly, despite how much faith Odahving placed into this conclusion, what he could not admit to himself was the desperate nature that he had used to come to such a conclusion. Because, even though he had come to this conclusion, the memories did not stop playing in front of his mind. And so, when they played out, Odahving, who had stood back up at first to allow himself to breath sighs of much-needed relief, sunk back down to his knees.

He was silent at first. Who would not be, when you have all your hopes crushed by a simple flashing image? That image was the last of his memories. He did it. He really did it. "I'm...so stupid..." Odahving murmured under his breath as his eyes stung in an attempt to cry but he had wept so much that there were no more tears left in him. And so, he kneeled there, all silent, his mind now a blank slate, unable to come to terms with what he had done. It is a truly painful sight when you see a man hopeless, without anything to provide any source of hope. Reactions can vary for such people. Some will curl up into a ball and just cry, as if waiting for the end of the world. Others try to stand up, desperately grabbing for anything to hope for, when there is actually none. Some, like Odahving, kneel there without a utterance, their minds trying to both understand and deny what has happened. As if it was mocking him for his foolish and hasty hope, Odahving's memories of the last minute kept on replaying in his mind. He did not pay any attention to it but for the sake of you readers, I will tell you what you should already know. Odahving revealing the Ebony Blade, using it to absorb Gakudan's energy, turning the attack into a glass-like shell of its former might.

_"ODAHAHAHAHAHA! PLOT SHIELD, YOU SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF BITCHES!"_

"_I wasn't supposed to use one sword."_

"_I used two."_

And so as the sole silhouette, which crept a tiny grin on its dark hideous face of many eyes, sung out the last word of the song that he had deliberately delayed, Odahving's upper body fell forward, burying his chest and face into the ground, as he gave out uncontrollable whimpers of guilt and sorrow. For the last image of his returning memories was that of him plunging the Ebony Blade through Alduin's back. He had done it, as Ahzidal had said so long ago.

_"The second-in-command always kills the leader...Hahahaha...hahaha..."_

_**Hurt.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that, my friends, is the first chapter of my third book: Chaotic Order. Forgive me for keeping you guys un-updated for the past two months, for I have spent that time creating a buffer of chapters to ensure that I can always stay ahead of updates.<strong>_

_**If you really need to know where in the world Odahving is or what has happened to him or anything, include in your review or PM me. I will try my best to answer you.**_

_**Farewell and see you next week.**_

_**-A.D.**_


	102. Chaotic Order 2: Good Knight

Today is a good night.

That was what Kendington Janus Kefik Manimar Hisutsuki the Second thought as his coarse rough fingers pulled onto the edges of his black boots, stained by the thick layers of dirt that he had so conveniently forgotten to wash off in the day. Even the laces, as he struggled to tie them together into a double butterfly, were literally full of those little particles that would instantaneously turn into brown putrid mud once they contacted with water.

The middle-aged man chastised himself for even bothering to try to keep his boots clean, just as the little stubborn critters finally gave way and slipped perfectly over his equally stained socks. After all, as he continued on to his thick leathery gloves that always felt so awkward and itchy against his skin, he gets his boots just as dirty just about every single day. So why bother?

His now gloved hand reaching for the mandatory silver working helmet that hung alone on the wall hangers, Kendington used his other hand to smoothen over the tiny spiky sprouts of a barely appearing beard, gazing at his doppelganger on the mirror in front of him, feeling whether he should shave it now to avoid getting reprimanded by the chief roughneck for dress code violation. It probably will not matter either way; that snide Islamic terrorist has always been on his ass every single day since his assignment here at Texas. A little facial hair is probably not gonna to change much of his attitude anyway. Might as well as keep it on as a small sign of defiance.

Truth to be told, there was really nothing about tonight in particular that really warranted Kendington to think that this particular night had any sort of quality that amounted to good. Of course, as you readers should know, all that statement was just something that the author came up with to sound posh and refined, though entirely irrelevant to the subject at hand. But surely such a reason would fall flat in the context of a story. So let's just stick to the willing suspension of disbelief and just say that Kendington had a good feeling inside him that told him the night was good.

Not that he cared anyway.

Good or not, he never cared.

Placing the metallic helmet onto the thin graying layer of dead cells that he could barely call hair, Kendington sighed as he pushed himself off from the skeleton-thin frame of his aluminum stool, grabbing a donut from the Dunkin Donuts box that he had bought from the store and left on his dusty bed two days before. The well-built man could care less about bacteria or bed bugs bastardizing his donut, as he absent-mindedly sunk his teeth into it while walking through the other bunk beds that housed the other roughnecks, taking advantage of their time off their shift to get some sleep. Huh...the chocolate layering has thinned once again. Damn capitalist bastards, wanting to save their goddamn manufacturing costs and increase their dough.

Ravaging through the donut as if he was eating the capitalist bastards themselves, Kendington paid little attention as the door he was heading to opened, letting in that rigging ginsel Jordan, whose small stature of five feet and three inches was easily dwarfed by Kendington's height of six feet and three inches, not to mention the vast difference in bulk between the two.

Black rings around his little Oriental eyes. Shivering scrawny arms that he always failed to stop. The back of his shirt printed with a massive stain of dirt and muddy water, meaning that he had once again slipped in his shift. What a lame duck. "It's your turn..." Jordan murmured under his voice, wavering in the burden of having the midnight shift. Not that Kendington even cared, as he brushed brutally past the little twit, his much thicker arm bashing against its moderately muscled, but relatively thin opponent, causing the ginsel to recoil in pain at the impact.

"You don't say, mouse." Kendington breathed menacingly as he turned on his headlights and exited the rig house, leaving Jordan murmuring in agony as he slumped onto the ground.

Not that Kendington cared.

_It's always been the same little brats._ Kendington thought to himself as he checked the rig interface monitoring the data, experienced eyes surveying the meters that really mattered_. It's always been these little scrawny skeletons that come up here thinking that they are all hot shit with muscles chiseled from the streets._ He looked towards the meter indicating how much fluid is entering the rock below. Judging from the driller's normal readings, it still seems to be fine, just a little under-pressured, which can be fix with the right adjustments.

_Even worse with America now taking to the oil industry with its fracking and all. They think that just because they are part of a country that could become the biggest importer of oil in the world, that they deserved a little respect. As if. _Kendington snorted to himself as he went on to checking to the depth of the drill into the rock. Once again nothing out of the ordinary. This might be an easy night shift. _Not that those little kids will ever find themselves in an easy situation. All the time, they think they can whine and complain all the time when their job load just seems to be beyond their pay. NEWS FLASH, BOZOS! NO ONE GIVES A SHIT!_

_And it's not just them. Every single American out there is just whining and typing away on their little online accounts, thinking that anyone is even paying attention. The content they give barely extends beyond useless memes and insults. "I used to be an adventurer like you until I took an arrow to the knee." "I took your sweetroll." They then boast themselves as having read years into any random topic, when all they did was type a few letters on Google and recited Wikipedia word for word. Thinking they know it all just because the knowledge is handed out to them on a silver digital platter._

_And while they choke on the little minor inconveniences that pop up in their lives and complain all day about it, REAL man like himself have been slogging their asses, pushing the industry that could very well allow America some breathing space. Indeed, no one gives a fucking shit about their country's welfare. It's just their ego that always trumps their minds and pulls it around like a slave on an electric leash._

_And who in the right mind allows Islamists terrorists into the rigging industry?! You might never know when one of those suicide bombing SOBs get out their little pipe bombs and screw everyone around them up. Freaking Islamists..._

Walking through the darkness that the lack of the sun has caused, Kendington went up towards the fracking rig itself on the platform. It was a towering structure made up completely of white cylindrical beams, though you cannot see their color in the night's shroud. Instead, to illuminate it for easy spotting, multiple points on the rig were illuminated; the points of light dotting the rig and giving a relative image of its figure in the darkness, making them seem like a Christmas tree of lights in the forest of pines that surrounded the drilling area. Furthermore, on the edges of the platform, powerful search lights sprayed their brilliance over the entire area, making a blurred border of light and shadow clashing against one another for territory. The only moments Kendington actually needed his helmet's headlight was when he needed to look at sections in the rig that were too deep in its complicated interior to allow light from the other sources to reach it.

Not that he really minded about it.

Checking over the smaller pipes and the hydraulics once more, Kendington breathed a sigh of relief as he found no operation-impeding problems beyond a simple and easily fixed loose nut on a pipe. The pipe's integrity was still intact but if it had been allowed to stay like that over time, he could not be so sure. The loose nut had to be at least been there from before his shift. That ginsel must have slacked off on his checking duties again.

Damn it, Kendington felt like he had a good mind to write down the little flaw and pin the lack of apt correction on that Jordan, but he could not find himself to be bothered with the excessive paperwork. Might as well just quickly tighten the little nut and forget the whole incident ever existed in the first place and keep it off paper. Then everyone would be happy in their little sugar land of rainbows and ponies called Pony-island, eating little sugar butterflies and pink cows as their bodily fluids turn into caramel fountains. Hurray. Not like he really cared.

All he wanted to do was to get his job done and over with and that's it. So onto the next round of checking for the next hou- Hmm? Interrupting his train of thought, Kendington felt his left eye sting at the sudden glare of a light to his side. Attention taken away from the checklist in his hands, Kendington sluggishly looked towards something he had never expected to happen tonight.

"What in the world...?" Kendington's brows knitted together into a sharp V of concern as the brown orbs under them traced the white shooting star that was hurtling through the sky. Here in Texas, shooting stars were rather rare and in Kendington's opinion, not the most spectacular things you could see. They were just little trails of light swooping down to the ground, with little flair nor noise with their appearance. Kendington could never force himself to admire them; they were just stupid trails of light, even worse, they were just pieces of rock from outer-space just burning in Earth's atmosphere as they committed suicide. Who in the right mind would attribute incineration to making a wish? It's like mankind found fire to be some sort of wish-maker. Shooting star, make a wish. Burning candles on a cake, make a wish. Nuclear bomb, activate it then make the wish that you would deal the killing blow.

But the star shooting over him is no simple shooting star. It was not cloaked in frictional fire, nor was it even falling towards the ground in the normal trajectory you would expect. It was a large ball of pure light that had suddenly appeared from the horizon hidden behind the trees. No way was a normal shooting star able to be near enough to seem like the size of your head up there in the sky. No way was a shooting star able to suddenly pause above you, as if all momentum that surrounded it had vanished in an instant.

And no way was a shooting star able to give off such a shrill sound that just raped you to insanity. Ripping, raging, roaring static that seemed to bypass his ears completely and play right in the core of his brain.

His vision, absurdly disorientated, swam and spiraled around him as Kendington fell to his knees, his gloved hands cupping over his ears in a vain attempt to block out the high-pitched audio that bordered a scream. His bones rumbled beneath the vibrations behind the sound. The trembling within felt excrutiatingly greater as the sound faded away –no, tuned up to a much higher pitch. His hands, desperate to rid him of the tremendous noise, pressed so hard onto his ears and in turn skull that intensified the headache to shredding extremes, as if an infinite number of chainsaws had simply waltzed into his mind and start felling the tress that were his nerves.

His teeth, biting deeply into his tongue, drew blood but the metallic taste of it was not in Kendington's priorities as his vision begun to be filled with an unusual circle of light that seem to expand, his depth perception so whacked out that he was unable to comprehend that it was not actually increasing in size, but was just closing the distance between him and it. His wavering mind tried to think what was happening in the few seconds, what was the shooting star doing to him and why he was even caring about this whole damn thing.

But when the ball of white holy light crashed into the little human being, his mind shattered.

Into a million fragments it went. Bouncing about confused, his mentality, his mind, his identity was fragmented throughout the boundaries of his mind-scape, slowly and painfully dissolving into a black sludge that leaked out. A bloodcurdling scream was the final command that this hapless sludge could give, before it was swallowed and devoured by an invading entity, formless and timeless, that then flitted happily throughout the mental landscape it had found in the human that it had targeted specifically. Finding its new mental faculties satisfactory, the alien being sat upon the throne it had conjured up, as it allowed itself to totally integrate with the man that was its victim.

And now its body.

With its takeover complete, the being found for itself a pleasant surprise at a chance opportunity to have some free time, for before it had always been so strapped of time, and now faced with this excess of the precious unit, it begun to wonder:

How many years has it been since it has awakened from its crest? How long has it been since it is free to spread its Virtue to the world? And how long has it been to have an entirely new world to itself for it to become diligent of?

Indeed, the man it now inhabits is in desperate need of a total revolution. A man who has many complaints, but does nothing to make sure that they are properly addressed. That sort of attitude has to be changed. No more "not that I really cared." No more of that pathetic slothful perspective. No more mental complaints that solve nothing. If you want to see the change in the world, then you have to be the change. Mahatma Gandhi. Such a wise old fool, but a fool nonetheless. Everyone knows that no one can change the world by having peaceful demonstrations and silly speeches. Because no one gives a piece of excretion products to such petty, weak methods of persuasion and change.

The only thing that anyone would give a shit to would be violent power, brutal force _and _a god.

Standing back up onto his two feet, the man once known as Kendington Janus Kefik Manimar Hisutsuki the Second surveyed the place he had landed, the charred and little remains of his clothes barely hanging onto his skin. They were not even hiding his extremities. He felt somewhere, in the remnants of his human nature that still called for his dignity, like he should care about that fast but priorities come first.

His eyes, now two fiery pits of golden hot sparks that blazed with boundless vigor, hounded the land around him for the first thing that came to his mind; the first thing that he had to care about first before he could continue on. And there it was: a pale-skinned mortal human in at least his twenties, with thin eyes and a scrawny musculature that was a height of five feet three.

Though in our boringly average vision this human would seem like a mere black silhouette running towards him, almost indiscernible in the darkness that swallowed the path between the platform and the bunkhouse, but to the man, he was a humanoid shape of orange and red, the heat from his body clearly visible against the blue background that indicated the cool temperature of his surroundings. And it was also its target.

_Jordan the ginsel. Slacked on his job. Disobeyed his duty protocols and lacked the attitude demanded from him. Most importantly, he had lacked the diligence necessary to even find that simple loose nut on the pipe and had left it there to fate. A most unfortunate decision. _

"Hey man, I heard the scream!" The human, obviously here to prove to him that he was diligent and thus innocent. Giving out his false worry and concern. But it was too late for him. "You okay-GAH-" Not even shock nor despair appeared on the Jordan's face as it spiraled about in the entity's field of view, stuck in its expression of concern wrapped with twisted horror. This expression would continue to be worn by the decapitated head that flew off the platform, dropping into the darkness where it would stay hidden till morning. Retracting his outstretched arm back close to him, the man blinked unsymphathetically at the splashing of blood that covered one side of his hand. Another quick flick of his hand and the blood completely removed itself from his skin, splattering onto the metal plates that formed the floor of the platform.

Deprived of its nerve center, the headless body paused for a moment in its running pose, red warm blood running out from the hole that had been its neck, even spurting out once or twice in a brief geyser whenever its briefly living heart beats. Eventually, as the entire body finally realized it had died, the legs in those dirt-stained jeans crumpled to the side, sending the rest of the lifeless meatbag down onto the ground. There it laid, blood now streaming out into a crimson pool that encircled the body. Looking down curiously at the reflective surface of the blood, the being raised an eyebrow at the word that seemed to have been carved over his toned chiseled chest, more specifically at where the heart of his human vessel should generally be. Stained with fresh redness due to the recent cutting, the word was in italics, with the size it had made at big enough such that it covered the width of his left chest muscle.

Even though it did not adore the stinging from it, it could at least appreciate the relevance that the word possessed to him. In fact, it was his name and thus it could not get any more relevant.

Moving away from his reflection in the puddle, the man's flaming orbs gazed onto the bunkhouse next, narrowing at the number of red-hot bodies lying on their bed, imparting their heat into the furniture, bathing it a faint yellow. Despite the fact that he had executed the most immediate culprit, he could not help but think back a little bit further. He had no way of identifying the exact timing that nut had gotten loose.

But given that it was every single one of their jobs to keep up the maintenance of this structure...Oh dear, does that mean every single one of those humans had practiced a lack of diligence and alertness? Had they neglected their duties, allowing this simple loose nut to exist throughout all of their shifts till the current shift of his human vessel? Surely, most definitely, he will need to undertake the most rigorous of interrogations.

And If the answer to all those questions was 'yes'...

Well then, judgment would have to be sentenced.

His heavy boots, their ridged soles painted with the blood they threaded in, lifted off the ground in the start of a walk before stepping onto the body in front of them, crushing the deadweight into a mix of pulp and gory gruel under their strong heels, continuing on as if the only thing they had crushed was a bug. His gait deliberately firm and with SEAL-standard solidarity, the deity headed towards the bunkhouse, with the last pieces of cloth on him falling off to free his naked body from their fabric prison. As he stepped into the darkness clear from the lights, a sudden ray of moonlight peering through the thick cloud cover overhead brushed over his chest, illuminating what, emblazoned in the crimson greatness of his blood, was his name.

_Industria._

Latin for Diligence.

Today is a good night.

**Indeed...It is a good night. As you should know, the fourth crest and the second Virtue had begun to take things in his own hands. Unfortunately, the fact that he is a Virtue, does not necessarily mean what he wants to do is going to be for the good of anyone. Hoped you like this second chapter of the new book. Up Next for next week: Tea Time with Time! **


	103. Chaotic Order 3: Tea Time with Time

**Hello Guys! A.D. here. Sorry for the delay. I was supposed to upload this chapter two days ago, but Singapore is undergoing some political elections right now, so more of my time is spent paying attention to it. Once again, my apologies for the distraction. So, without delay, here is the third chapter of Chaotic Order. If you have any questions, PM me and I will be happy to reply them to the best of my abilities.**

"Did...you feel that...?"

Alduin, sitting cross-legged onto the damp cold rock of the dungeon, felt a sense of unease quiver over him. Such sensations never spelled anything good and the fact that this particular one appeared to tug some strings in his heart unnerved the Fallen God of Destruction even more. Truth to be told, he would have acted upon this feeling if Time had not shaken his head. However, his grandfather's gesture was not that of confusion or concern. There was a sense of great finality to it instead, as if he was telling –no, ordering Alduin that if he tried to focus on it now, he would surely regret it. Whatever that feeling was, Time knew it was something that was best left figured out in the future. Even though he most likely knew what it is, Time was not willing to share it just yet.

Understanding that, Alduin uncontrollably poked for an answer with a few seconds of staring before giving up, his hand now receiving the cup of tea offered to him by his grandfather. As the two sat in the dank dungeon that was supposed to imprison Alduin, they were surrounded by the thousands of chain links floating about in the ominous shroud known as darkness. Reflecting the light off from the lone weak lantern, these pieces of metal shone like little stars. Each and every one of these stars had been twisted out of shape, the price for their ultimate failure in their jobs to hold Alduin down. Now, broken and divided, these links were subjected to the unconscious influence of Time, levitating about in the air, some swirling around like currents in a tornado, others just staying where they floated as if in stasis. Others seemed to reform back into bits of chains before falling apart again, redoing their reunion in an eternal back-and-forth cycle.

Watching this spectacle mid-drink in awe, Alduin frowned as he realized what Time was doing. For every individual chain moved in the same individual direction, the same individual speed, the same individual position. Time had the power over Time, not simple levitation. What was happening around him was Time's ability to manipulate the flow of time. Links reforming into chains and then breaking apart? Those were play-backs of the piece of the timeline when Alduin broke the chains apart. Links staying in the same place without moving? They were truly in stasis, frozen in their piece of icy time. Links flying about around them? All of them were repetitions of the timelines those links that were sent flying by Alduin, repeating so fast that it seemed like they were flying a complete circle around, when it was in fact just too fast for his human eyes to notice the gaps.

No doubt, with his possession of Felix's body, these displays of power are not Time's true exertion. They were nothing more than the natural exuding of Time's gravity-like aura, bending the continuum as if it was play-dough to him. To see the Concept of Time do this made Alduin wonder what was his father, Akatosh, the God of Time, capable of? Was there any difference between the abilities of the two rather than simple magnitude and authority? Right now, all Alduin knew about his father's current state is that he had managed to partially freeze Chaos' movement through the pause of Time, at the cost of his and the other Divines' own time flow. Seeing that, his father obviously was a controller of time but to what degree?

Not only that, what about himself? Can he do this in the future? Can the one known as Alduin, the third generation, do all this? As of now, Alduin himself was not certain of both answers. Sure, there was that one time when he managed to create that singularity that allowed Time to meet him face-to-face when he was killed by Chaos Odahving but that was an unintended reflex caused by his death. Not only that, the haunting memory of that Void reminded him to his death that the plane of Time was not welcome to him.

It bothered him to a slight degree. A slight degree because he understood that he was human now. Trying to comprehend and grasp the power to reign over time is not something that mortals –correction, humans would be capable of. Even if he was a Fallen God, that same principle still applied to him.

However, it still bothered because while he could look at the present and take heart in that he would never find out as a human, he also had to look at the future. IF they managed to defeat Chaos and Order and IF he was accepted back to Nirn as a Dragon God, would his power of Time be diluted by the fact that he is a third-generation entity in the line? Would that make him unsuitable to take over his father in a far future? These were all questions he had previously considered when he was originally a Dragon God, though he was sure that those had been phrased differently and were much more impatient in context.

Those had been motivations that pushed him to the length that he had gone to in Skyrim in order to prove himself to be more like his father. In fact, he was the first ever God to become an inheritor of a position among the Nine Divines, let alone the chief of the entire pantheon. To become a pioneer that must take such risks of immense magnitude, it was just almost overwhelming.

Maybe it was his father's understanding of that fact, that he somehow placed the two minor gods Lucifer and Gospel into him, to help him. If that was so, then Alduin had really messed up in his inaptitude to be there for Lucifer. The German Shepherd had taught him many things in a very short span of time and though Gospel was incredibly helpful, Lucifer was the one who took the initiative. He never held any punches. He never softened any chides. He would torture Alduin to get his point across and he would threaten his friends in order to get Alduin in control.

Finally, Lucifer willingly took the road to death, even if it was for an advantage that did not last that long. As long as it saved people, it did not matter. Despite how fast the Nine Circles of Hell fell due to Arondight's unexpected interference, it did its job. Many people owe their life to it. Shinigami, the Death Scythe Spirit, Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, that motorcycle kid were all spared due to the extra time that that technique gave them. And finally, it allowed Alduin himself to wake up in time to fight against Chaos Odahving. Maybe it could have gone the same way without Alduin, we never know. Maybe Cyril and Xeal and Crona and who else in the DWMA could have taken Odahving on. But it did not change the very basic fact that Lucifer had given his life to save everyone.

If only...if only he had gotten to known him better... Being caught up in all his own problems and his own efforts, he had almost entirely forgotten the basics of a Weapon-Meister pair: to form a bond with one another. "More time...I just needed more time...," Alduin absent-mindedly murmured as he picked up his tea cup off the ceramic platter that held the china tea set between him and Time. Sipping down the tea, Alduin found it hard to indulge in the heartwarming and calming taste that was mixed in this tea made specially by Time himself.

"You never know how many times people say that, Alduin," the old-man-in-a-boy's-body replied to his comment, as he sipped carefully his own cup of tea. While he was indeed a lot shorter than Alduin, the boy mountain-climber known as Felix, with his short blonde hair and a youthful fresh face, looked at Alduin with eyes that glowed with a hue that seemed ancient and perpetual, representing the Concept that was now acting as controller of the boy's body.

The china tea set? Pfft, as if the narrator needs to explain everything to you. Just imagine that it was some horribly convenient placement that was meant to both symbolize Time and add feeling to this meeting.

"The sad truth, boy, is that no one ever does." Time said as he slowly twirled the cup between his two holding fingers, allowing the long plumes of white steam from the tea to create dancing swirls in the air. "When time is given to you, you cannot play around with it like some little kid who just bought himself a sparkling new Desert Eagle."

"You can shoot, you can murder, you can take revenge on everyone who has bullied you, you can have drive-bys, you can rob a bank, hold presidents at gun-point but in the end, the only thing that such mentality will get you to will be death. Because time isn't the gun. It's the bullets, the ammunition. The gun is nothing more than a method that you have chosen for yourself to use those precious bullets in. Time is the limited thing that you might never notice slipping away, as you waste it all on a pathetic lifestyle of little meaning. And when you run out, when you find yourself in need to reload, when you find your magazines empty right when you need them, you die." Time mused on as he swirled his tea a few more rotations before drinking it down in one gulp. "That's the simple fact, _ceteris paribas_."

"A fact that applies to you as well, grandfather?" Alduin asked curiously as he helped himself a refill of tea, allowing the white china teapot with intricate flowery patterns to let out its satisfying contents.

To his brief surprise, Time actually nodded his blonde head. There was no hesitation, neither shame in his simply casual nod. "Yes, it does. More than you can ever imagine. We may be called Concepts but each of us is subjected helplessly to the concept we are associated to. When it happens on our bodies, we cannot manipulate it. Chaos is always chaotic. His body will always continuously change and warp, even if he did not intend to. Ironically, his aspect, to take all paths and opportunities, robs him of the path to just stop."

"Order is the opposite. No matter how many times he tries to change his shape, the only extent he is capable of is turning his body into fibers and even that cannot last long. He may have a perfect world in mind but his own body will rebel against him. A frustration he has to deal with for his entire existence."

Time paused just before the next example, his breath holding just before he uttered the next word. When Alduin noticed this, he immediately knew that Time was going to refer to himself. As Alduin gazed at him with a questioning look, Time acknowledged it with a nod, letting go off his hold on his throat and continuing. "Myself, incapable of changing Time of myself. I can freeze light beams that carried the image of my younger body and continue them when appropriate to create the illusion of a younger look. But in the end, I'm the only one who is without the privilege and ability to escape time. And when I stop time around me, the time of me still moves on. And though I may be able to affect things then, when my powers stop, I must pay a fee. I am forced to move my entirety forward in time so that the time in me and my body correspond with one another."

"You talking about a forced time travel to make up for the discrepancy between yourself and your actual timeline." Alduin realized as he took a small sip, smoothing his hand over his chin as he thought about what Time had said to him. Somehow, this newly learned fact seemed to have made something give a lot of sense. Something way back in the past. It was indeed a fair reason, so Alduin tried it. "Was it..." Alduin hesitated, his teeth grinding against each other while he stayed tight-lipped for a second.

"...because of that, that you could not see my father for such a long time?"

It made sense. If Time had done something that caused him to stop time for an extremely long period, it might have possible that he was forced to travel forward and thus leaving Alduin's father all alone for that entire length of time, from near the beginning of Nirn till right now. Alduin really wanted the answer to his question. Time still had yet to answer for his complete absence in both his and his father's life.

But an answer was not given. Time sat there silent, his eyes hidden by the shadows cast by his hair at the slight tilting forward of his head. His breath, creating mists in the icy Himalayan airs, came out slow and held back. Alduin did not know whether he had hit the nail on the head, or he was close to the truth. Either way, Time's response indicated a very solid connection between the price for his powers and his absence from his family's life.

Alduin knew it should have been best if he had pursued it but looking upon his grandfather left him in a moment of indecision. Whether he regretted allowing such a window of opportunity, Alduin would remain unsure of it for years. That brief lack of action from Alduin was all that was needed by Time to completely change the subject. Allowing his eyes to appear in the dungeon lantern's rays, Time gave a convincing smile as he glanced at the cup at his hand, before lifting the teapot as if he wanted to refill. "Ah, the tea is finished. That's really a shame. I thought we could talk like this for a little longer. But I just can't do it without some good tea."

Alduin did not know how to respond. Part of him remembered clearly that when he last refilled, the teapot still felt as full as always. Part of him knew that his grandfather was bluffing and trying to turn away from the subject. Most of him was aware that right now, right here, he was being forced to listen by his grandfather's incredible Voice, or Thu'um in Dragonspeak. Right now, as Time spoke, Alduin cringed as the sounds, the diction, the pinpoint pronunciation of each word Time spoke reverberated in his head, lacing his thoughts with their own hidden command for obedience. He would have expected that Time could have exercised his control with more restraint and subtlety, but in those moments of time, Time seemed to have grown desperate, thus the obvious crude effect of his Voice. But even with his knowledge of his presence, Alduin knew better than to tackle against his grandfather's Thu'um. It was just no good. Resisting it with his own relatively puny Voice could very well give him a nasty psychic headache.

So Alduin, reluctant as he was, decided to give up, his mouth closing tight to signal to Time that he conceded, that the matter was laid to rest. After all, some things were best left for another time.

"I guess we get down to business, right?" Alduin sighed as he picked himself back up to his feet, giving his tea one last sip before setting the little cup onto the platter.

"Indeed," Time acknowledged as he remained seated while waving a finger in a brief quick circle. Taking cue, the tea set responded as its pieces begin to lose their designs, the forwarding of time applying the inevitable curse of age onto them. Before long, they were nothing more than brown structures of sand, blowing apart into clouds of ash and dust as Time gave a simple breath. Then, in a moment of stressed tension, Time clenched his right fist in a crushing motion. The dirty clouds of irritants vanished into nothing, not even a dot was left behind. Alduin was left speechless at Time's eradication of matter. "I have to first confirm with you a few things before I can give you my advice," Time said as he slowly brought his arm back down onto the lap of his crossed legs, unfettered by the fact that he had defied physics' matter conservation. "The Sins and Virtues. The three you have already obtained. Are they safe?"

"I can only hope, ancient man," Alduin shook his head with a heavy sigh, "The DWMA's chief of staff, Joe Buttaki, took the crystal box holding the crests when I surrendered. Given that I had voluntarily given myself up to them, stopping him from confiscating it was beyond my power."

Time's voice could not be more forgiving. "I can understand. While the act itself was a responsibility you must bear, it was not your fault that you had to suffer such consequences. Is there at least someone however, who understands the danger of exposing a weak person to the crests?"

Alduin nodded, a comfortable smile forming on his lips. "Cyril. The Elemental Weapon who could manipulate sound. She was briefly exposed to the crests. I must say though, she initially took to them too well. I had to snap her out of it."

"Can she be trusted?"

Alduin could not help but give a giant guffaw. "After I had given her most of my memories and Gospel, as well as having chosen her to be the first one to know my true identity? You tell me." The answer was too obvious.

"My mistake then," Time apologized with a sheepish shake of his head, "You only knew her for technically two days. Yet you trust her that much. She must have taught you something."

"Yes, she did. More than I could admit with my stubborn big head," Alduin murmured under his breath, giving himself a smile that told of both joyful reminiscence and sadness. "...Though I wonder how she feels about me now...?" Finished with his self-aimed whisper, Alduin shook the thought off. "Anyway, I can trust her. I just hope, though, that she does not let her savior mindset go too far, especially if she intends to prevent anyone from getting affected by the Sins and Virtues. Most especially with that Virtue."

"You are referring to Humanitas, charity. You mean, you did not inform her about the total extent of the crests' influence?" Time asked, concern now lined on his face.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Careless, my grandson. Really careless. I guess I would have to inform my subjects to help her out in this task. Fig would probably jump at the opportunity."

"Fig? That's not a name you hear in Nirn. Who names themselves after a fruit? Is-?"

"It's a nickname, Alduin. But your unspoken deduction is right, he's not from Nirn. Out of the six Psijic Order members I have brought here, five of them originate from this very planet, Earth. Four of those originate from here, the DWMA. One of the four is Ignatius Mareflamme, nicknamed Fig."

"_Burning Sea of Inferno,"_ Alduin muttered under his breath as he translated the Latin name. "What sort of person turns such an ominous and enraged name into something as innocent and sweet as a fruit?"

"You will understand when you meet him. In fact, he is already meeting up with your friend Cyril."

Alduin gasped as he felt himself give a brief shocked jump, his widened eyes looking at Time in confusion. A Psijic Order member meeting up with Cyril so soon? Why? "What? Why is he-"

"He knows her. That's all I can say to you. The rest is up to him to decide whether or not he should tell you. For now, however, you would need to concentrate on one thing: finding out where the other Sins and Virtues are." Time remained emotionless and serious as his arm reached under the distinctive white robe of the Psijic Order, pulling out from under it a familiar backpack.

"That bag," Alduin said in recognition, his mouth hanging open at the sight. "It was the one Paarthurnax sent to me with that clingy bracelet-shield of his, along with those candles that reminded me how to use my Fire Breath. How did you manage to get it? I clearly remembered throwing the accursed thing under my bed after I learnt of Paarthurnax's betrayal..."

"I just took over a human boy's body and sent two guards to sleep just by walking. You think a measly bed and a little displacement is going to stop me from getting whatever I want?" The answer was obvious.

"I rescind my case," Alduin giggled at Time's response as he recognized how similarly both of them had responded to the other's question. Even though they were spatially separated by a dimension's worth of reality and god knows how many billions of years, Alduin cannot help but notice that their personalities shared many traits. Guess that's what they say about 'chip of the really old block'.

"But it's not the bag that is important..." Time extended his holding arm, offering up the predominantly black bag with green stripes to Alduin.

Alduin smirked knowingly as he acknowledged his grandfather's meaning, "It's what inside it." Taking the bag from Time's hand, Alduin held it by its sling as he examined it from a few angles, as if somehow the material lining would just jump out and eat up his face Pacman-style. Actually, given that the bag was really a container of hammer-space, giving it an enormous amount of holding space, if one was careless enough, one might accidentally allow himself to fall right into the bag and said experience would not be pleasant.

Other than that, it was just a normal bag. Alduin continually reminded himself that, keeping his nerves in check, as he unzipped it, before allowing his hand to slowly reach in to feel for whatever Time wanted him to find inside. Alduin could make a few guesses on what he was supposed to be looking for but he would not know until he could get his hands on it.

That is, if he could find it.

"Just a moment," Alduin nervously told his grandfather, who had been looking at him with an impatient eyebrow lifted up. That little gesture was justified though, for it had been two minutes since Alduin slipped his hand into the bag. That was the problem with a hammer-space bag: not the most convenient of containers. And so, for another long thirty seconds, both grandson and grandfather exchanged awkward stares as the former continued his increasingly desperate act of searching, his arm now diving entirely into the bag, flailing within it with great urgency.

And thus it was this tedious ordeal that, with glinting beads of perspiration trickling down his head like raindrops on a windscreen, Alduin could not describe his heartfelt joy as the skin of his thumb barely brushed against something smooth and hard. Following the direction of the sensation, Alduin frowned in another ten seconds of intense focus as he tried to figure out where that object was. When his hand managed to just bump the same thing again, Alduin gave a sigh of relief when he managed to retain contact with his quarry. Carefully wrapping his digits around the still unseen object within, his mind attempted to feel out the nature of whatever he was now holding onto. It felt almost rectangular, like a smooth and perfect box, but one of the six sides, thin and long, felt like some sort of ridged and tough section. The opposite side as more depressed into the shape and when Alduin smoothed his index finger over it, the tip of his finger nail felt like it was skimming over five hundred flat thin layers pressed together carelessly into a single big piece. More specifically, five hundred layers of paper.

A book.

No doubt about it, the object hidden in the bag was a book. Alduin's mind immediately flashed back as his arm began to pull the book out. Remembering something back from his first encounter with Time. There was little doubt about what this particular book was.

By the time he revealed the ancient-looking and dusty encyclopedia from the gaping maw of the hammer-space bag, Alduin had long realized that, gripped firmly in the middle of his hand, was the book that Time had given him just before the singularity had fragmented. At first, when he had felt it in the bag, the weight of the book almost felt like it was close to several kilograms. It gave the sense that it was really large, as if on the scale of some of those university textbooks. But when Alduin pulled it out and allowed light to finally dawn upon it, he was surprised that the book was as small as a notebook, being just slightly bigger than his extended palm. Not only that, removal from the bag seemed to have released some sort of distortion on the book, for now the weight he was feeling from it matched the actual size.

The book was not something spectacular. Its binding spine was probably the only thing that caught the eye, for it was made out of a silver-colored metal, this piece reflecting sheens from the lonely illumination of the lantern. The corners were shaped in a way comparable to the hinges of a door. And that was how the book opened, its two covers rotating on their respective hinges connecting them to the spine. These cover were made out of simple forest green clothed cardboard, thick enough to equal the width of a finger. No words, inked or branded, could be found on the covers and even the spine had nothing of similar nature.

However, all of these details paled in comparison to the age that had obviously been accumulated in the book. The covers had their edges already bending and becoming creased, their paper-memory bended by long-accumulated use, with one corner even looking chewed up. Some of the green surface of the covers had also been shaved off(by edge or by age, Alduin could not discern), revealing an unexpected gold lying beneath it. The back cover of the book had a large and eye-catching scar of a water-staining that covered almost sixty percent of its face, causing the color in those parts to not only be lighter, but irregular as well. The metallic spine and its hinges were also not spared from the effects of age. The hinges, though still smooth, were beginning to show pieces of rust within their gaps and one hinge was slightly smaller than the other, indicating that it had once rusted completely, only to have said covering completely scrapped off. Maintenance? Alduin could not decide. He did not really expect this kind of age to plague this book and while he understood that books can survive for hundreds of years, he still could not believe the book's visual resilience. Which begs the question, "What is it?"

"A Concept."

It was so fast. Time's reply was so abrupt and unexpected that it just flew past Alduin's comprehension. For a second, Alduin stood there, looking at the book with now slightly widened eyes, pupils shaking as if that little movement could somehow stimulate the understanding process. Sadly, all that did was to give Alduin's vision a nasty vibration and so he quickly shook his head to shake his reflex off. He wanted to just throw the book back into the bag and burn the whole thing on the spot. He wanted to tear it apart and consume every piece of paper and cellulose so that he could digest it to nonexistence. But instead, all he could do, with his boggled mind, was to robotically turn towards Time and asked with a stutter, "I beg your pardon?"

"Do not be so alarmed," Time gave out a smiling guffaw as he answered, prompting Alduin to only look at him blankly in confusion.

"What you hold in your hand right now is one of the many annoying invitations that a certain Concept had given to me. I piled up quite a lot of these things along the way since I could not find the time to send them back to him in refusal. At the same time, like before, I just cannot find the time to speak to him either." Taking a short step forward, Time picked the book out of Alduin's frozen-by-shock hands. "What this does in particular is what you can call a teleporter and a communicator. It teleports you to the one who sent it and then after confirmation of an agreement, it can be used as a form of communication. Think of it as Skype, only with the ability to spatially displace you as well."

"Skyp? What the heck is Skyp?"

Time's face darkened into a serious scowl, his eyes almost beginning to shoot daggers with a cold and dangerous stare. "An important and convenient innovation that Nirn will probably never invent in the next five games. Along with arcades, computers, movies and pizza."

"Eh?"

"I'm speaking out of context. Don't mind my rambling."

"Oh." Nodding his head with uncomfortable and partial understanding, Alduin's face gave an awkward smile at his grandfather's weird words. Though he could fairly predict how Time could act normally, there are just those times you just cannot get what your elder is saying. No doubt the underlying reason must have something to do with the generational and dimensional gap. But other than trying to ignore his grandfather's insane dialogue, Alduin had another nagging question in his head. It was a natural question, given what Time has told him. He might as well as just ask about it right now.

"So who-?"

"Wisdom. The Concept of Wisdom."

His voice retaining a severe and down-to-earth tone, Time completely hijacked Alduin's question, catching the youth off guard with his sudden answer. As Alduin searched his grandfather's face with a shaken mind, he could not help but admit that Time gave impregnable poker faces. His expression was blank and clean, obviously hiding something inside that ancient expansive mind but never indicating a sliver of what it was. Time had read Alduin's mind before during their initial meeting but being smacked by it in the face now began to irk Alduin at the possibility that he might not get respect for his own privacy. It did not help when Time continued with a calm, unchanging air, "It was a natural question, was it not?" Whether that was a strikingly clear indication that his grandfather had read his mind or that he had just expected him to ask, Alduin could not figure it out, no matter how riled up he was feeling inside. So much for predicting how Time would act.

"Don't creep me out like that again! Alright!? I would like my mind to be my own!" Alduin warned as he tried to control his breathing, keeping his annoyance and anger in check as the two emotions spun like butterflies and bees in his draconian belly. It was truly to him a very sorry state of matters. Despite how much he might have perceived himself to open up and he could appreciate jokes, Alduin could still feel his temper flare up at the slightest of pressures, like sparks being fanned in a smoldering pit, threatening to relight the torrent of flames that was his rage. It made his gut just completely twist in a painful attempt to wield his control. At least at the same time of this new development, the black snaking tendrils of madness that had been plaguing him for such a long time had seemed to have receded far back into his mind, with not a single tentacle being felt in his consciousness. Relief at the cost of pain. Combining the two together, it was still pain all the same.

"That is one of the many things that I need you to talk to Wisdom about." Time suddenly spoke out, his hand placing the book back into Alduin's grip, utilizing the weight and its cool, soothing touch to stabilize his son's shaking arm. Surprised by the sudden stilling of his previously nervous appendage, Alduin looked down towards his short "deceivingly young" grandfather, his rich onyx-colored eyes searching his elder's old ones once more for an answer. But all he could get in his mind's eye was that still and hard expression of Time, all of his feelings and thoughts invisible from interpretation. "Meet with Wisdom via the book." Time spoke with a dry finality, removing his hand back. He did not need his Thu'um to convince Alduin this time. That tone alone, unstirrable and gravitational, was all that was necessary. "Many things about the Concepts must be taught to you, but at the same time, you would need a better grasp of yourself, Alduin. And only Wisdom would be able to help with that. You need his assistance if you hope to face up to the upcoming Judgment."

Eyes contorting in confusion, Alduin's mind cogs whirred in an attempt to understand what the last word 'Judgment' meant. A final decree? A holy apocalypse? What is it? "I have never heard of such a thing." Alduin muttered his thoughts aloud, before turning towards Time and asking, "What is the Judgment?"

"It is what the DWMA have reserved for you. The most powerful and influential trial that has ever existed on this planet. It is reserved for the greatest and most evil criminals of the highest magnitude and order. A single final trial that never allowed its accused to go free. It is witnessed by only Death and judged by only Death. Not only that, the decrees and decisions that are made in a Judgment affect the entire world through sheer political clout. For this world, it has been some of the most pivotal turning points of the ages. But even then, it has never once shown mercy. Eternal torment or death, those are the only two conclusions that have ever been made at a Judgment in this world's history."

It was not difficult for Alduin to see the unfairness within such a method of trial. Especially when he learned that its prosecutor is also its jury. "How can something have so much power with only just one person guiding it? Is there no check or balance for this sort of thing?"

"You misunderstand me, Alduin. As of now, you should know of Death and Death the Kid, right?" Alduin nodded back in prompt affirmation, wondering silently how the Shinigami father and son and their family relationship had anything to do with such a serious matter. The answer was quickly given by Time. "You may not know it, Alduin but the actual title of Death is nothing more than a name passed down with the dawn of each new generation. The old generation is sapped of his or her life force, memories, personality and powers, in essence their entire identity, passing those on to the inheritor of the title."

Alduin felt his jaw loosen and hang. He had been very foolish and presumptuous. The name of Death had given him the illusion that Lord Death was an entity that was free from the life-ending phenomenon he was named after; that he had been in charge of Death City since the beginning. It was truly a stupid conclusion. If anyone was to be immune from death, it would be the theoretical Concept of Death itself. Though he had never seen this entity, or other possible Concepts for that matter, he felt sure in his mind that such fundamental concepts should have their own fourth-dimensional representatives. There were also other problems as well. With this new information and additional hindsight, Alduin realized what Time really meant is that...

"Therefore, in this world's history, there has been more than _one_ Death. In fact the current Death is number 68 of the line of Deaths. And when the Judgment is called, every single Death in history is signaled to answer the call and they convene to form what they collectively refer to Death's Jury, with the head Death as their organizing judge. I can guarantee you that some of them will not appear for the trial but you can bet that at least 40 Deaths will appear to preside over it."

"At least 40 Deaths? That's like several nuclear bombs piled together in one spot. Is that why the Judgment are so powerful?"

"Yes, it is but one of the reasons. In this world, Death is considered the prime entity. It's not the most powerful but possesses the greatest authority in this world. Some of them will demand eternal torment for you, some will demand death. None of them will fight for your freedom. If you just allow them to act like any other Judgment, you will never be able to get yourself free and the upcoming war is as good as lost."

"Which is why you will have to challenge it. Convince the Lords of Death to not only forgive you for your crime, but to take a serious look towards the inevitable conflict nearing over the horizon."

"On that day, you must make history as the first one to survive the Judgment."


	104. Chaotic Order 4: London Bridge

**Near-dusk in the city of London,**

"Is this really the right way? I just hope we are not going in triangles, squares or circles."

"We aren't, dad. I'm positive that I am following the directions correctly."

"Oh you mean, the ones that told us to go forward past two junctions, turn right at the next, take a left after passing another junction, walk down the road to the central square where the fountain is, take the path to our left and then after going over one cross-junction, take another left turn and walk on till we reach the place. Is that all correct?"

"I think that is correct."

"Oh good, because pardon me, son, if I have to point so very honestly to you, ISN'T THAT JUST SOME RIDICULOUS RECTANGLE?!"

Flailing his arms dramatically as he raged, the white-haired man felt his heart sink as he watched his son's red bloodshot eyes widen upon the realization of the so very obvious fact, that the directions had been given to them in exchange for half of their cash were nothing more than a retardedly convoluted and deceivingly complicated description of a rectangle. And they fell for it, like rats dancing to the Pied Piper and jumping into the river.

"I'm going to bang my head against the wall now."

And that was how, in the middle of the day, the people of London got a very rare chance to witness the stunning magnificence of the unique and possibly endangered entity known as Zuri Heriotza practicing what he always does best: smashing his head against a brick wall, smashing the latter into bits. While another unique and possibly endangered entity identifiable as Beltza Heriotza desperately tries to prevent his father and partner from moving on to smashing his head against the middle of the road.

Eventually, Zuri Heriotza calmed down as a nice and viscous river of white blood flowed down from his forehead, a huge piece of stone wedged into his skull. Realizing that his head had become heavier than he had expected and that something was touching his brain matter, the man, after somehow straightening his loosely fitted white tie, used his brown-gloved hands to feel for the big intruder, giving an impressed whistle once his fingers felt the fist-scaled size of the stone block. He pulled it out and threw the rubble to the side without so much as a grunt.

Almost immediately, his white blood that were on the verge of dripping over the edge of his white circle-beard, begin to recede back into what Zuri noted to be only a flesh wound. Leaving no drop behind, the thick and unfortunately disgusting-looking liquid returned back into their vessels, closing up any perforations along the way, while the fracture that had split his skull in two was completely pushed back into place, making it seem like nothing has happened. At the same time, using his hand, the man smiled as he grabbed the eyeball that had been dangling out of its right socket, shoving the brown-irised organ back to where it belonged on his heart-shaped face, taking a few seconds to realign it back to its proper angle.

In the end, as he felt himself be complete once again, the middle-aged man gave a sigh of relief as he stood there in the middle of the road, decked out in his beige-colored suit, his outer jacket unbuttoned and left unproperly tucked-in, while sections of his inner shirt were messy and unkempt, even crumpled. Giving his limbs a stretch as he gave a hearty laugh, Zuri Heriotza felt like a winner as he took a step back towards his watching son.

And promptly got ran over by a limousine.

"Haaaa...here we go again," Beltza gave a half-hearted sigh as he begin to walk towards the dismembered and rolled-over pieces of Zuri pasted onto the front of the limousine, barely paying attention to his left arm as it exploded into black tendril-like matter, solidifying enough to form a ghoulish-looking biological shield that was as tall as himself. This shield would then begin to deflect bullets with its impregnable defense as guns began to blare. Screaming orders and possibly cries of disbelief, the black-suited men in top bowl hats got out of the limousine, their arms clenching onto assault rifles as they unleashed hails after hails of lead at Beltza.

Not that numbers would have done any effect, since each and every bullet was just simply swallowed by the mass of black biological matter. It was blatantly enough to withstand anything that the men could throw at it. And 'everything' included an RPG rocket. Beltza did not even gave a uncaring glance of the subsequent RPG that was fired out by one of the gunmen. Responding to the nearing threat, the shield morphed horridly into a large horrific head, its demonic maw eating the rocket out of the air completely, without even triggering the explosion.

Since, apparently, the gunmen have not even a casino's chance of penetrating Beltza's defenses, let's just ignore those pitiful mooks for now, while we watch Beltza, now standing at the car's front, talk to its bonnet.

You might be asking. Bonnet?

While the brand of the limousine was Jaguar, what was supposed to be a Jaguar figurehead on the car's bonnet was replaced by an obnoxiously smiling head of an equally obnoxious father.

"Took you a while, son. Would you be so kind as to put me back together again. I can't seem to figure whether I am supposed to be in shock or not," Zuri gave a cheeky wink towards his now relatively enormous son.

"Don't push your luck," Beltza felt the nerves on his face constrict as he gave a hostile glare, while the shield he had put up began to once again morph, transforming this time, with crunching bones and slimy slithering, into a huge gorilla's arm. Deciding that he needed to teach his father a lesson - which he will probably unlearn anyway - , the pissed off Beltza gritted his teeth as he raised his new arm, while every single virus in it move the bullets, rockets and more bullets down towards the bottom side of his arm, pointing them straight down towards the bonnet.

And in the same way that a normal person would slam the top of a table with his arm, Beltza smashed his hammer-arm into the limousine's front, simultaneously unloading every single projectile he had absorbed into the engine.

All hail the might of explosions.

Utterly obliterated by the force and power of the fist, the car forcefully began to sink into the crumbling ground, while its back pivoted over it as it began to flip forward. The armed man, having long noticed the giant fist, had already ceased their gunfire and began to seek distance away from their doomed vehicle, shouting in both panic and desperation as they cowered away from the pending destruction.

But the moment Beltza unleashed his payload into their destined vehicle, the limousine disintegrated. Bursting forth in an inferno of explosions, bonnet, boot, chassis, engine, everything that constituted the unfortunate Jaguar was rolled over by a hail-fire of rifle bullets, before being propelled everywhere in fragments by the subsequent detonation of the rockets. Ringing as metal and metal melded and clang together, sharp chimes were shortly followed by the booms of gas exploding.

With a shockwave raging forth in the air and bullet-like particles cutting through it, burning oil rained down from the eruption of the limousine's engine and fuel tank, even igniting some of the unlucky men who were just too slow to get far enough, while other drops formed glowing molten puddles that melted the asphalt road. While their companions were screaming and rolling under the death-hug of ferocious red fire, other men were flung off into the air like rag-dolls as torrents of pressurized air lifted them up from their running feet and threw them about in the wake of the shockwave.

Light, oxygen, fire, steam, metal and ash collided together into this dazzling display of explosive brilliance, as the limousine vanished into the fireball, placing another a hundred thousand dollars into the replacement bill of the mafia who owned it. At the same time, their bodies being engulfed in a manner similar to their car, the mafia members died one by one as their flesh dispersed in black light, allowing their red Kishin Egg souls to reveal themselves from their now broken shells, floating silently in the air as they are covered up in the blown-up dust.

Meanwhile, as all this chaos and destruction rampaged about the street and the smell of liquid tar and petroleum permeated the furious air, the sound of someone screaming like a girl could be heard over the cacophonous noise of the devastation, while in the smoke, the silhouette of a particular white-haired head tumbled about. The consciousness behind it was obviously not feeling good from watching the chaotic world spin around him. Even as a disembodied hand scooped the screaming head from the air while its sighing owner zipped through the smoke in a blur, taking the head with him.

As his body ran through the scene in unnatural speed and grace, anyone on-looking would have seen a horrifying sight, for while his upper body was normal, what it was sitting on was nothing more than a mess of grunting and screeching black biomass, with many large bloodshot eyes peering from its sides, forming loose shapes as this underbelly demon brought its owner through the streets. At the same time, on its upper-side, many vaguely hand-like protrusions were picking up body parts as Beltza ran on his centipede legs, making sure that the pieces of Zuri Heriotza were not abandoned, while he kept his true human hands on Zuri's head, clasping the still screaming appendage against his own transformed twisted chest, which looked like a hardened shell that wrapped itself around the angles of his front.

Deciding that he had found all the body parts that were necessary, Beltza's pencil-thin eyebrows raised a notch when whispers of approaching threats spoke to his ears, as the many airborne viruses that did his bidding finished the scouting that had been asked of them by their master and container. Beltza felt a desire to keep on going, to turn his large and sludgy body to face the oncoming threat, as the demon that was his carrier opened its maw in readiness, revealing malformed rotten teeth that ended in fierce knife-edge points.

His black thick blood curdled in anticipation of the inevitable fight, but much to its dismay, the white blood that flowed around it like how a river would with a stone, calmed down Beltza's hunger for battle. Shaking out of his drunken lust, Beltza realized that he was ignoring the importance of their assignment and could be wasting valuable time while the mafia could get away with the package. So he decided not to linger any longer.

By the time the other limousines had entered into the street from both of its ends, the massive form of Beltza had long ripped its way up the nearest building and disappeared over the roofs.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was exhilarating. Wasn't it, my son?" Zuri beamed another one of those cheeky nigh-arrogant smiles as his hands felt the contours and angles of his shoed right foot, searching for any possible sign of a hole that could have perforated the leather of his new white hard-heeled shoes. Well, he had no problem turning his biological matter into something that has so much organic material as a shoe, with its leather foundation and rubber heel, but the thing is, these are new shoes. Surely you can understand that a manly man's attachment to his shoes is directly proportional to how new said pair of shoes was? Problem is, with his eyeballs like this right now, Zuri is just too blind to properly check out his shoes. "Can you check out my shoes for me?" Zuri motioned towards his son, as his eyeballs squirmed in their sockets to find their correct orientation.<p>

"They are fine, just a little dirty. Here, I'll wash it for you," Sitting on a dumpster that were typical of the dirty alleyway that they were now taking refuge in, Beltza scowled as his hand extended out in a trail of tendril, swiftly snatching the white shoe out of his currently blind father's hands, 'washing' it in one of the nearby murky puddles that had accumulated over weeks in the corner, before shoving the foot up Zuri's awaiting bottom of a right leg. Watching the embracing tentacles of white blood rejoining the ends of foot and leg back together, Beltza watched on as the brown irises of Zuri's eyes reappeared from their disorientation in their sockets, signaling the regaining of his sight.

"Why, thank you," Zuri kept up his smile as his suspicions about what his adopted son had actually did compelled the man to look down at his right shoe, only for his smile to fall into a gaping jaw once his fears have been comfirmed by the sight of his now blackened shoe, the leather drenched and painted by a coat of what he could only hope was simple muddy water. But a simple whiff was all that was needed to dispel those fears. "WHAT THE HELL! MY SHOE! IT'S COVERED IN...OH GOD, COME ON! WHY?!"

Feeling a tiny smile creep up at the sight of his father's suffering, Beltza spectated with an amused look as Zuri hopped about on one foot madly, shaking his contaminated right in an attempt to remove the unspeakables off his beloved leather, but with little effect. Beltza liked it when he witnessed the funny antics of his melodramatic dad. It was good medicine; laughter had always been rumored to hold that status. Though it might not be able to cure him of the trauma that his body sought to wreck against him, it was able to take his mind off it, keeping him calm and in spiritual balance, just like Zuri's white blood does to his own black blood.

Eventually, as Zuri gazed with an eye of pity and longing as newly summoned biomass replaced his ruined shoe, Beltza decided that they needed to quickly get back on track, lest they risk missing the package that they needed to retrieve. "Dad, mind if you can pass me your phone? I'm thinking of calling the European branch," Beltza asked as he raised his hand out expectantly. Truth to be told, Beltza had his own phone with him but he wanted to keep as much of its battery life so that he could beat that frustrating level on Angry Birds.

Little did he expect Zuri to give a nervous smile, as the middle-aged man pretended to look away as if nothing had happened. "Erm...well, you see, in the fireworks you had created back there, my phone...decided to stay behind to watch the display. He promised he would come back, so I let him stay. He should be returning so-"

"You lost it, didn't you?"

"I cannot confirm or deny that."

"You are referring to the iPhone 5 that had all my completed 3-star max-high-score Angry Birds? The one that I used to spend my heart tirelessly fighting against frustration to complete and max out every single Angry Bird version under the sun!"

"I...guess that is the one..."

For a few seconds, Beltza stared at Zuri with a poker face and expressionless eyes, as silence was allowed to grow thick in the air. Zuri felt his spine shiver.

Said spine was promptly perforated by an elongated black blade.

"GOD DAMN IT! I'M SORRY!"

Beltza gave a heavy sigh, expressing both his sorrow for the loss of all his scores and his exasperation at his father's stupidity, while he watched Zuri, now unable to stand with the giant blade in his abdomen, flop about helplessly like a bumbling goldfish out of water. It looks like he was going to have to use up some of his own battery, not to mention lamenting his misplaced trust placed into Zuri to take care of his precious gaming phone.

Punching the numbers to the European branch with a skeleton-like finger, Beltza placed the phone against his ear as the expected ringing of his call trying to get through sung through it. He wondered how he could tell the branch without sounding like an idiot, that they had lost half of their provided money over a set of useless directions and even worse, that they had forgotten their original directions given by the branch in the first place.

"Good afternoon, Mister Beltza." As the confident and fairy-like female voice spoke, Beltza immediately felt a blush run over his cheeks. Now his problems had just doubled. How could he not sound like an idiot to both the branch and to Angela?!

"G-g-greetings, A-A-Angela..." The moment his voice came out like a stammer, Beltza's heart melted to sludge, both physically and figuratively. As his blood hurried about in his body to restructure his heart back together, Beltza's neck has already extended out towards the wall opposite him, allowing the red-faced boy to smack his head in the wall, in a manner indistinguishable from his father, who was still squirming around the floor as if a crocodile had caught him in its ballerina roll of death.

"Are you alright, Beltza?" Angela, the girl behind the phone, said. You can imagine her eyebrows raising at the sound of Beltza's head-smashing. "Please stop abusing your frontal lobes." Upon hearing her order, Beltza ceased just before his head was about to plant itself into the brick again. Pouting, Beltza's neck reluctantly slinked back to its original length, while the boy muttered back an apologetic "Sorry." Part of him wondered whether he should just turn off the phone and allow himself to melt, while another wondered whether he should just give his father the phone, or he could just...

"It's alright, Bel. Just tell me what you need and I will get it for you, alright?" As her sincere and angelic voice comforted him, its holy-like effect just simply dispelled all those thoughts away, Beltza's grip on the phone involuntarily holding tighter than before. He just wanted to hear her voice more, since it has been so long he has been back to the European branch headquarters itself, so it's been a while since he saw her. And the way she said his name...Bel...Uh, he meant... It's not that he has romantic feelings for her or anything (he most certainly isn't a _tsundere_ either); it's just that she was so sweet to him when everyone besides his father avoided him, therefore it was so natural that he just liked her. That's right, he told himself, he saw her as a sister or a great friend; that was all. Besides, there was no way anyone would even reciprocate feelings from a monster of viruses, no matter how he-

"Eh...Beltza? I'm waiting." Oops.

"Sorry..." Beltza chidingly bit his lower lip as he tried to set himself straight, as his biology once again regained normalcy, while the blood vessels around his vocal cords tensed, in order to control his wavering voice, with fluctuating effect. "I...think I need a re-briefing...on o-our mission in London, Angela. Not that it is really necessary...but I feel it is b-best to keep in mind...what we are doing..."

"I see, Bel." Angela seemed to agree, as she continued after a pause, probably to get the necessary information. "Well, according to here, your mission is to retrieve an unusual and probably dangerous container from the London mafia in one of the warehouses that store their illegal goods before they are smuggled. The container came to our attention when an anonymous tip from an untraceable source had told the Eurpoean branch about the stowed away object and further investigation after that had revealed there had been reports that the mafia had set up a deal with a collector, with said deal possibly revolving around the container in question. DWMA has already sent other agents in order to take the collector into custody before the transaction could be fully completed, but in order to ensure that the mafia does not try to pull off another such deal, two other three-star meisters have been sent to clear out the warehouse and retrieve the container for pending scientific examination. Said meisters are you and Mr. Zuri. Got that, Bel?"

"Uh huh...," Beltza replied absent-mindedly, as he found himself more enraptured by Angela's voice rather the mission information that he had already long remembered. The way her lips must have pursed at every diction-required sound and how her face must be beaming like a graceful angel while she spoke, if only he could actually see it, instead of left to the machinations of his pathetic imagination. With the same entranced euphoria, he continued on. "T-thank you angel..."

"Angel?"

"I mean, Angela," Beltza's face blew up like a red volcanic tomato as he tried to recover from his accidental mis-step. Oh, if only he could just spontaneously combust right not, but his nano-scopic brothers within his bodies will pummel him to a pulp if he ever tried to do that.

When Angela suddenly giggled though, Beltza realized he had successfully recovered. Or so he at least could hear. "I see, Bel. Must have been you accidentally missing the last part of my name. Though, from now on, I'm sorry but please don't call me that." Two things that Beltza got from her words: 1, he could not see whether she genuinely accepted his excuse that he had simply misread her name, and 2, he found himself wondering whether he had offended her somehow.

If he had, it did not distinctly show, for their conservation from then on, exchanging the directions to the warehouse, took a turn towards a more professional and neutral manner, for while Beltza found himself still as clumsy and socially inappropriate as always, Angela on the other end, to his internal worry, had become more reserved and less...happy, as if she was distracted during their conversation. She never yelled at him or scolded him with hostility so there was little sign she was angered by his careless tongue. Yet, she sometimes tripped over her giving of directions, getting Beltza one set of directions before suddenly yelping and quickly correcting them, or give another set of directions entirely. All in all, her mind was clearly someplace else.

In the end, the atmosphere had become sober and even a little down-spirited, enough that Beltza felt his social ineptness drop even further, leaving the boy of viruses unable to come up with a social context for the two to have a decent chat. When the directions were finally given, Beltza realized that he had lost the opportunity to do that and though he would give all of his phone's battery-life to just get a minute to talk to her about their recent lives, it would be impossible now. "I-I guess, I should say thanks for your help."

When Angela's voice returned, the somberness in it was clear as day and he could even imagine her looking down away from him, as if scared of him seeing what her eyes could not hide. "Yeah, no problem...Call me again alright, Beltza?"

"I will..." Beltza felt his voice stop to a pause as the ringing of the phone conversation being resounded through his ears and he allowed his iPhone 5 to stay hanging against his head for a few silent seconds, before he finally got over himself and with a downcast face, slipped the phone into his jean's pocket.

Only for the viruses on his skin to transmit him the mental image of a certain intolerable white-haired man with an ear-to-ear smile that spelled out 'MISCHIEF" in nice big letters. "HELLLOOOOOOOO!"

Even with his viruses already giving him the preemptive alert, Beltza could not help but find himself jump off the dumpster in surprised response to the cooing voice of Zuri. Unable to control his descent off the waste container, Beltza fell on the ground on his back with a thud, even whacking the back of his head against the brick wall while he gave a pained 'argh' in response. As he laid there on the ground, his vision wobbly from the concussion, Beltza could only see the dark silhouette of a maniacally smiling freak standing over him, as said freak was carrying a giant black blade, tipped with white blood, under his arm. Without anything more than a simple flex, the freak crushed the blade with his bicep, as the black biological matter, rid of their configuration, shattered into tiny frozen drops and fragments that then scattered across the craggy and ill-maintained path of the alleyway.

Beltza was afraid of this sight; he was naturally afraid of his father. Because if his father knew that he was just talking to Angela just now...

He would annoy him till Beltza had shot through the nine clouds of heaven and the nine circles of hell.

"Well, let me guess, my little lover-boy just talked to his soul-mate! So did you teenagers exchange hugs and kisses over the phone?"

"I-It's none of your business!" Trying to regain his composure, Beltza's face reverted from its twisted expression into his trademark face of nonchalance and indifference, with a pint of hostile darkness even shadowing over it. Getting back up to his feet, Beltza stuffed his hands into his black down-jacket as he tried to walk away from his sneering guardian. On the other side, Zuri silently stood against the wall watching his son's internal embarrassment in amusement. Personally he found it peculiar that Beltza should even be shy about his own feelings, given the situation that surrounded his body, as well as Zuri's. In fact, with his full knowledge of his own biological situation, Beltza should at least be brave and try to get as much happiness as possible before-

"ARGH! AAARGGHHH!"

It came out so fast, just like all the other. In seconds, Beltza's body suddenly began to twitch and squirm, the boy desperately trying to cry out, only for his mouth to unleash a rapid series of salivating coughs and spits. Not taking a moment's worth of hesitate, Zuri rushed up towards the now keeling Beltza, whose voice was becoming hoarse and almost strangled as the boy clutched his throat, coughing painfully while his hands wringed around his neck at an almost crushing pressure. When Zuri managed to get to Beltza's side, his eyes narrowed at the familiar sight of worm-like entities crawling under the skin of Beltza's hands, as well as the black ooze that slithered out from under Beltza's fingernails.

It was the same as the last relapse. 'His body must have been strained by his exertion back at the road,' Zuri concluded in the back of his mind as he quickly got to work. With one hand, Zuri clasped Beltza's shaking hands and forcibly removed them from their grip around his neck, preventing them from strangling their own owner to death. With his other hand, Zuri reached into his jean pocket, frowning in frustration as his thick fingers forced through his various possessions: a candy bar, three thumbnails, two wrapped poptarts, his alarm clock, a pencil, a lampshade, four syringes and an additional five hundred things that belong to remain in a man's privacy. Reaching the very deep end of his very bottomless pockets, Zuri pulled out his entire arm out of his pants with what he had been looking for in his hand.

"Yes!" Shooting his triumphant arm into the air, Zuri gave a hearty laugh as he waved the small bottle of pills in the air. 9 seconds. He took 9 seconds to get these pills out. "RECORD TIME BROKEN!"

"H-hello...cack...ack...d-d-dying h-here..."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Beltza's waning voice snapped Zuri back into reality, prompting the man to sheepishly shake out two white circular pills, just the size of necklace beads, into his hand, passing the medicine to Beltza. Pain racing through his nerves like electricity would through wires, Beltza could find in himself the patience to take the pills out of Zuri's hands, and thus, without much care whether his teeth would cut through Zuri's palm, Beltza allowed his mouth to bite straight at the pills, snapping them up, missing Zuri's flesh literally by the skin of his teeth. "AIIIE!" Zuri yelped in shock at Beltza's brazen move and the moment Beltza's mouth had taken in the pills, he retracted his hand back quickly, scanning it back and front to see if Beltza had taken more than just pills. Realizing that his lovely hand was untouched, Zuri gave a relieved sigh.

The sigh was shared by Beltza, bending forward with his head against the ground, when the pills took effect the instant they reached his stomach. He did not really know what they were supposed to do nor what they were in the first place. Only Zuri had knowledge of their origin. But for the past few relapses, they had been used over and over again, all with the same gratifying effect, completely vanquishing the savage ravaging that his body had been going through, as well as completely removing Beltza's need to cough and returning his health back to normalcy. Well, at least until the next time.

Even though they were a temporary measure, the pills did their work and Beltza was grateful for that, as he felt energy resurge back into his vessels, his wrecking experience having finally come to pass. Taking a cautionary flex of his fingers, Beltza quickly realized that his breathing was fast and almost bordering hyperventilation. Realization was all that he needed. He did not even need to think about it; his sub-consciousness did all the work in an efficient manner. Before he could summon the courage to pull his entire body back up, the viruses within his body had already normalized his breathing rate, removed the impressions his hands had left on his neck, repaired and strengthened ten bones in his right hand, healed his twisted left wrist and restarted his leg's blood flow that had been stifled due to his kneeling position. One point they were trying to kill him, the next they were now helping him recover from their own assault. His Black Blood V.V. was an insidious and unpredictable entity.

"Hey, you alright, son?"

"I'm...fine."

"How long did it last this time? A week? Two?"

"5 days."

"It shortened, huh? It most probably was because you strained yourself and your blood too much over the last few hours, son."

"I can still control my own blood. I am still able to fight. I-"

"Taking the warehouse would not be so easy, Beltza. We need to find a way to make sure you don't strain yourself too much."

"Warehouse? I never told you-"

"There are only a few reasons why I would deliberately forget a mission location given to me, but right now, I can't share them with you, son."

Zuri did not need to. Beltza understood why his father did it and allowed the two of them to aimlessly wander about the confusing streets of London. During their desperate search for directions, this particular mission had brought them to the city, which was actually a first time for Beltza. Given how close he is of getting forced by the DWMA to stay permanently in a hospital...

"A-alright." Beltza gave up in resignation as he hung his head, realizing that his guardian was really just looking out for him. Arguing with him would not only be futile, but it could also be a show of a lack of appreciation from Beltza, which the boy most definitely did not want. The best option was to stay quiet while Zuri thought out a suitable plan for him and thank his guardian later once they are done. Yeah, he will do that.

"Great, son. Right now, we got a warehouse to take down. And I got the perfect idea to make sure that you don't strain yourself."

* * *

><p><strong>Two hours later at a seemingly abandoned warehouse just sitting at the outskirts of London...<strong>

It was finally dusk. The sun, having now almost completed its dying descent, was now half-way into the horizon, the dilution of its light having caused the sun to glow an intense orange. As this light extended away from its source and reflected endlessly about the labyrinthine clouds, the color diluted even further, transforming into a light crimson paint that dyed the clouds.

Far off in the distance, over the dark trees that cast shadows upon each other under this fading light, the sound of police sirens could still be heard blaring, as the commotion that surrounded the confrontation incident at the London road still continued on. Most of the smoke that had been billowing out in massive plumes had already dispersed up into the cool air, evaporating to join the clouds high up in the atmosphere. However, even as the last and largest of their gray brethren now rose up into the skies after them, none of those billowing pillars of ash matched the dark charcoal color of the dense smoke puffed out of the yellow-toothed mouth of the heavily aged man sitting at the open door of his jet-black limousine. "Those idiots...they had been so careless..." Lighting a large Cuban cigar that was long as his gray eyes were narrow, the leader of London's local mafia, Kurt Ulysses, felt no twitching of heart strings at the report of the deaths of at least eight of his subordinates. The mafia had one strict code: zero tolerance for failure. Had they returned alive and with a failure on their backs, his subordinates would not have lived to see the light of tomorrow morning anyway.

"Listen up," The wrinkles that creased across his face deepened as his voice turned hoarse with serious strain behind its cords, "When these guys come in here with the dough, don't even let yourself look away to yawn. If any of you swine try my patience, I will be forced to do an on-the-spot eye surgery." Each of the seven men with him standing at attention, had a noticeable lump going down their throats at their boss' morbid words, quickly stilling any minor movement within their bodies as the low growl of a vehicle slowing down into the fenced-up premises of the warehouse complex. It was entirely black, a common-looking car, looking neither spectacular nor horrendous. It irritated Kurt, seeing his clients come in such a dinghy piece of metal, but the old man found the professional patience within him to straighten his tightly strapped tie and approach the car with a welcoming word already coming out from his tight lips.

"Welcome, my friends," Kurt straightened the cuffs of his raven-colored suit, a small little gesture, but his men were well-trained and attuned to his motions. Without even needing to take a second look towards their boss, the armed men systematically spread out, their grip on the rifles in their arms tight and alert. By the time the drivers of the visiting vehicle even opened the door to let themselves out, the guards had already positioned themselves to form a carefully-set ring of protection around their leader, not too tight to restrict his movements should he ever need to get to their limousine quickly, but not too dispersed to allow an easy opening for any possible assassination attempts. And it is with this familiar formation that the mafia members faced the two men now walking towards them from the car.

The men wore suits just like the mafia, but their black was more of the color of the blank and encompassing night itself, in stark contrast to the mafia's predatory and aggressive raven. Underneath these overcoats were dark-red shirts, looking freshly pressed and neatly worn over their bodies, with nary a crumple. Over their heads, hiding their eyes with the shadows cast by the sunset, were simple fedoras and it was upon the sight of these hats, along with the men's gait, that the Kurt felt himself cringe unsurely. Once again unlike the mafia, who walked with simplistic and disciplined strides, the two men strutted towards the group with unnerving confidence, the way they planted their feet on top of the ground almost seemed like they owned the place, the entire warehouse and its surrounding soil.

In fact, they were about to do just that, with one of them carrying a briefcase under his arm.

When the two parties were finally within spitting distances of each other, the old man closed his eyes for exactly two times longer than a normal blink. That mere signal was not unnoticed by his men, as they compliantly expanded the circle to receive and accommodate their two visitors, with the guards now facing towards the meeting within the enlarged ring. Every single one of them eyed their visitors with an intense gaze. But their scrutiny was largely ignored by the two men, whose eyes, still hidden in shadow beneath their large fedoras, could only be speculated to be trained solely on the stout and rigid-looking man standing before them. "Have you brought what we have agreed upon?" The mafia leader spoke out first and he cursed his own carelessness for doing so. This was purely a business transaction and his clients right now are not aware of the dangers that dwelled upon the very ground they were stepping on. Making the first move for his money could very clearly show his desperation to sell the warehouse complex, leaving him dangerously exposed to the mercy of his clients.

However, it seemed like his worries were unfounded, for the one carrying the briefcase simply gave a simple nod and took a short step forward (a motion that triggered a brief start of surprise from the guards), before extending out the case towards the aged leader. With practiced smoothness, Kurt turned his eyes towards the guard to his left and then a short twist of his neck towards the opposite direction prompted his man to pull out a small handheld detector, an electronic box no bigger than the palm of his hand, and swept the little thing all over the briefcase. While everyone on site immediately knew what it is, this narrator would have to inform you that it is just a simple sweeping for any little bugs or unwanted surprises. Nothing especially fun. Now, if it was a biometric-detector, this meeting might have gone in a lot more interesting direction.

"It's clean," The guard spoke, but it was simply a formality; the very fact that the detector did not react at all was all that was needed to know this obvious fact. Without further notice, the guard quickly put back his equipment and then with disciplined hands, unlatched the briefcase's locks and opened with a cold flourish.

And inside were wads and wads of neatly packed banknotes. No surprise there. It's not like every time you see a briefcase being opened in such a setting, you would see Alvin and the Chipmunks dancing the obnoxious Gangnam Style, before breaking into the Harlem Shake in walnut bikinis.

Kurt, however, did notice something strange about the notes. "Paper?" He mouthed with a curious tone at the flakey-like look of the obviously paper bank notes. In fact, each and every one of them was made of paper. "I'm surprised that you do not have any of those plastic notes." The leader frowned with a concerned look as he scrutinized the notes even further.

"There is no need to worry." The other visitor stepped up to stand beside his colleague. His voice was on the edge of jovial, but holding back just enough. "All these notes are a 100% genuine and add up to the amount in our deal as well. It is just that our client just loves to make use of old things of the past and hence he insisted that you receive the payment in paper. He's just really nice like that..." Yet, whenever he ended a sentence, you could hear the faint trails of a cold, methodical tone hidden beneath, secretly saying, "If you probe any further, I might have to withdraw his niceness." If their overwhelming confidence did not creep him out, that simple display did enough to make the mafia leader feel a little quivering twist in his gut, as he backed away from any further scrutiny on the notes.

"I guess I will have to accept it with gratitude then...," the mafia leader felt himself scold himself for backing down so easily, but it was just such an uncontrollable reaction: backing down. He could not stop himself and thus, as business proceeded as planned, the leader tried his best to ignore his little act of cowardice, noting that after this whole thing is done, he would have to gut each and every one of the guards on site to prevent any tarnishing of his reputation in the underworld. He could not have that. With a little bit more harshness than usual, the boss gave a snap of his boney fingers, cueing three of his gunmen to step up and relieve their visitor of the briefcase, with the three hurriedly bowing to their boss before leaving the circle towards the direction of the limousine. "A customary check of the amounts, that is all." The boss assured the two men.

"W-Wargh?!" In a sudden break of the professional silence that had been permeating so thickly in the air that a needle can cut it, a surprised yelp came out from one of the mafia guards, who had one of his polished shoes buried ankle-deep into what looked like a small pile of compost, packed with rotten leaves and even eroding soil. A simple chide from his boss with a hard stare sent the guard back into strict attention.

"My apologies about that," The leader quickly turned back to his two visitors. Maybe it was his well-hidden nervousness or his own desperation to just leave the warehouse grounds, but today he found himself making many mistakes, as he soon made another by asking his clients a much forbidden question. "I have heard that your contact was a great and enthusiastic collector of artifacts and antiques but I am surprised his passion would extend so far as to desire the goods inside this warehouse of ours. Does he understand what he is buying here?"

The one who replied was the jovial one again, who even gave a knowing smile towards the leader as he answered. "Even if they were on the black market, our contact just delights in everything ancient. As you can see right now, he is willing to spend a fortune to obtain all your artifacts in this warehouse, so I am trusting of our contact to have a comprehensive understanding of his purchase." As this conversation was ongoing, the same mafia guard who had yelped a short while ago, now blinked blankly at a nearby tree stump seeming to be melting into a dirty paste within seconds. Cold sweat now on his forehead, the guard tried to grab the attention of his fellow mates, but much to his misfortune, they only gave him indifferent and piercing glares, for he had already humiliated himself with his previous little scuffle with the pile of compost.

"Does he now?" The boss, continuing on the conversation, was getting more careless with his mouth by the minute, but he was not aware of it anymore. The disguised joyfulness of the other man was giving him a refreshing face in the dark and hard world of the mafia and hence the boss' tongue was a little looser than normal. "Well, let me tell you. The object, I assume that is the real goal of your contact, had been delivered to us only a month ago, left on the doorstep of this very warehouse, with only a note from the very Pale himself."

The client smoothed his chin, looking interested as he took in the information. "My my...Pale? The unidentifiable enigma of the underworld? What did he say?"

"Only 'Good Luck'. Pah!" The boss spat onto the floor in disgust. "Like as if his words could not be more contrary to our situation. Ever since that...thing came in, not a snot of good luck has come to this warehouse. Accidents would happen at overwhelming amounts, like a plague, and the deaths that came along with them were performed by almost impossible events, as if there was something deliberately out there trying to kill anyone at the warehouse. Not only that, not a single illegal deal involving this place could go down smoothly. It always had to end with a disagreement and subsequently a fight; you can't fathom how many of my old clients I have to kill this past month."

"I...We are glad to be rid of it now, along with this accursed warehouse..."

"...as well as your bodies."

It happened so swiftly and methodically that it was extremely clear that the mafia members had planned this from the start, as the four gunmen now pointed their automatics straight towards the two suited men, while their leader slowly pulled out a literally golden revolver, the symbol of his authority, from beneath his coat. He held it out proudly, at first looking over the gun like as if he was holding a rare treasure rather than a tool of cold murder, before waving it towards the two men with an ear-to-ear smile that reflected the years of experience that this man had killed and enjoyed himself in the exhilarating art of slaughter. What is this? This is a breach of our agreement!" The man who had been so informal, so cheerful in their conversation, now had tensed up along with his companion as they seemed to almost cower at the sight of the guns pointed at them. He turned towards the mafia boss, expecting a viable explanation and the possibility of a diplomatic solution, but his face soon fell. The way the boss' eyebrows seem to shift up and down, the slight snigger in his voice, he was not just enjoying the prospect to kill, but was actually seeming proud of himself.

In his mind, how could he not be? He had taken note of, gathered, analyzed with refined thoroughness recent conflicts in his mafia territory, recent running-ins with the two DWMA agents that had been reported to have intruded into the sacred grounds of the mafia's influence, as well as the multiple defeats that his men had experienced at the hands of those defiant Meisters, and finally the multiple reports and observations of these perpetrators from the men who have survived their fights. And one thing was common about the agents. "I can assure you, my friends. I am terribly justified in bearing arms against you. You see, recently, in the past few days, my men and I, in fact the entire mafia of London, have been experiencing some trouble with a pair of agents. From what my men have observed from them, these agents seem focused on the task of preventing this very deal from going down. Yet, both of them are nowhere to be found. Surely, these agents, who have whipping our butts for these few days, could not have just given up and run back home crying to their mothers?"

The mafia guards gave a low grumbling wave of laughter at their boss' joke, half-taunting, half-mocking. Funny or not, it would be rude and dangerous to not give the satisfaction of appreciation to their aged leader, while he continued on with his self-satisfying monologue, even beginning to pace his way confidently around the two men as they watched him with hostile glares.

"I doubt it." He spat at the ground just inches away from the polished shoes of the two men, his own returning hostility in full display. "From our reports, one of the agents, a sickly young man, frequently displayed the power to shift his form and body, from massive arms, to black clouds of what seemed like parasites and even outright monsters. For such a proficient shapeshifter..." The old man grinned as he stared at the visitor who had been mostly silent and without even a flicker of a smile from then till now. "it might not be too much of a stretch for him to just disguise himself as someone we were supposed to meet..."

"Furthermore, there was also the other one. White-haired man. Not a very active fighter. Most of the time, my men reported killing him, but every time he pops up yet again, completely unharmed. Quite a feat, isn't it? Being unable to die..." The mafia boss seemed to even shiver with sensuous glee as he placed the barrel of his revolver at the tip of his lips, his eyes closed in a brief act of smelling in the whiffs of imaginary smoke. "Isn't that what shape-shifters are known for? That the only way you can kill them is by destroying them atom by atom, not leaving a trace behind?"

"What are you suggesting?" The quiet man, surprisingly quiet no more, spoke with his eyes still hidden beneath the shadow cast by his fedora, but there was little doubt they were firing daggers at the old leader flaunting in front of him with his ridiculous, self-absorbed gestures. The old leader just cackled at the success of his taunting. He just relished it, being able to put his enemies on edge, manipulating them like dolls on strings, steering within them so much anger that they would likely made a mistake. He loved doing that. And he loved the next part: the dropping of the act.

"What I am suggesting..." Kurt's expression turned to a controlled glare. Flourishing his revolver up high before moving it down to the point that the golden barrel was pressed against the stoic one's forehead, Kurt dramatically cocked the revolver's hammer, the sound of the 'click' it created echoing endlessly in the still tense air. Whether it is due to that simple sound or the change in the atmosphere, the scene grew even more dramatic when a flock of crows sitting atop the warehouse's roof took flight, soaring just over the heads of the confronters and the confrontees, their caws a background to the expectant voice of the mafia boss. "...isn't it obvious. I think you two are the DWMA scum, disguised in an attempt to ambush us."

And at the moment he said the last word, the first crow dropped dead to the ground.

In a spectacularly brief imitation of rain, the flock of crows ceased flight, each and every one, as their still bodies smacked against the floor.

You might be surprised at this. You might think, UWAH, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? And you might very well expect the mafia members to have the same reaction.

Instead, they laughed.

As the rough guffaws came out, sneers suddenly became a fashion trend, as every mafia member wore them across their faces, revealing a set of jagged carnivorous teeth. The teeth of Kishin Eggs.

"You will have to forgive our impoliteness," Kurt gave a mocking bow, saliva dribbling from his bared fangs. "It's just hilarious to watch someone think that after so much collation of observations, I would not have specially prepared us to counter their abilities." Taking the time to bend down and snatch up one of the dead crows, he looked over it, the elderly aspects of his face fading away under the empowering influence of his Kishin Egg aura. "Not bad, though," Kurt admiringly praised the two men, "The one who did this," The stoic-looking man seemed flinch. Kurt grinned. He must the 'one', Kurt noted as he directed his comments to the man. "...your viruses are very efficient. Within seconds, you managed to slaughter so much poultry. It's a shame, though, to see that despite having so much killing prowess, your viruses are merely a thorn in the flesh for our Kishin-boosted immune systems."

Deciding to show what he meant, Kurt pulled the leather black glove off his left hand, revealing the blood vessels glowing beneath the skin, the light they gave out a light red. "Honestly, I was expecting myself to be at least struggling against someone who has such an intense density of viruses."

"Oh? Only struggling?" Well, this is a surprise. Quite the defiance, Kurt thought as the speaking stoic man pulled up the front of his fedora, revealing his eyes. So many eyes. There were at least twenty blood-soaked eyes across the man's temple, each blinking individually from one another. Kurt felt himself betray his surprise with an unconscious drop of his jaw. "Are you challenging me?" The multiple irises seem to writhe as their owner spoke.

A person talking back to him at gunpoint? Interesting. To have someone fight back, it would always lead a much needed flavor to the situation. "Very well then," Kurt snorted. His gaping mouth sliding into an uncontrollable grin, Kurt gave a howl of laughter as he jabbed his revolver right in front of the eyes on the man's forehead. "Let's say I am challenging you!"

At this response, the man seemed to giggle behind a small smile, shedding away any disguise of his initial coldness. "Challenge accepted!"

BANG BANG!

"WAHH!"

"BOSS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"ARGH!"

Kurt could not catch what happened. He could barely see his revolver-holding arm swerve to the right and then, with methodical efficiency, unleashed two bullets straight between the eyes of two of his men. It then swerved to the left and then did the same to the other two men at the left.

The whole thing happened within five seconds. He did not know how, but Kurt had just gunned down four of his men. "M-My b-b-b-body..." In his confusion, Kurt could barely articulate his words properly. Not that he could in the first place. Most of his facial muscles were now beyond his control. And so were all of his locomotive tendons and ligaments, as Kurt resultantly collapsed onto the ground, with the few muscles lingering within his control spasming in a desperate struggle to break free. "HOW?!" Kurt spluttered out , his eyes wildly shifting in random directions to get a better look on his adversary. Their vision was instantly filled with the darkness cast by a familiar black sole pressing his head against the ground.

"Nerve-attacking viruses." It was the voice of the one that Kurt had identified as the virus-user. Kurt was not surprised, but he was still totally terrified. "Normally, your immune system would be able to counter normal viruses, but these ones penetrate your skin and go into your nerves, hence utterly bypassing your barfed-up immune system. The viruses allow me to control the mechanisms of your nerves, hence allowing me to assume DIRECT control of the movements of your muscles. You've seen the results. Kekeke..." A small giggle, identical to the one the man had given before, filled the entirety of Kurt's hearing. It was not just the man's power he now completely feared. It was also how staggeringly swift that man managed to decimate the counter-measure Kurt had specially prepared for this.

Then, Kurt's mind recalled the three other guards he had sent back to the limousine. He did not shoot them and they must be out of the range of the virus. So why aren't they shooting the virus-user to death? "SHOOT HIM, YOU IDIOTS!" Kurt ordered in his gurgling voice, as he slowly felt more and more of his leftover muscles now receding into the control of the man's nerve-virus. Yet, not a single gun-shot was heard. What had happened to them? He wondered.

Kurt immediately got his answer. Three purely white humanoid bodies were hurled over his eyes, dropping to the ground in front of him. They were his men. There was no doubt about it, especially when the three bodies dissolved into red Kishin Egg souls, joining their other brethren in their eternal suspension in the air. But what was that white coating around them? And who killed them? It could not be either of the men. They are both within his visio-

"You were right," One of the men, the stoic one, said.

"that we are shapeshifters." The other one spoke as well, connecting his sentence to his partner's part.

Kurt's eyes widened as he begun to finally comprehend the mistake that he had made. _The two men he had been talking to..._

"However, unlike me, who can transform into almost any living thing_s_,..."

"...my father can't shapeshift into life."

_They were not really two men. It's just one._

"What he can become..."

"...are organic objects and materials."

_And the other one had been somewhere else. Somewhere where Kurt had never suspected._

"Like, say, paper..."

"...bank notes."

As they finished their talk, the 'two men' nodded to each other, before melting into humanoid masses of revolting black sludge, with Kurt's nose writhing at their carcass-filled stench. Kurt tried to struggle even more while the sludge merged together, fusing to form the true body of their owner. "W-Who are you? Wh-What are you? HOW CAN THIs be? I thoug..." Panicking at the sensation of his heart slowly being breached by the viruses, Kurt spurted out a flurry of questions at the 16-year-old boy towering over him, but by his fourth, his heart was fully taken over by the virus.

You can probably guess the rest.

"The name's Beltza Heriotza, Kishin Egg..." His electric-blue hair flying in the chilly night wind, Beltza's bloodshot eyes, with extraordinary white crosses in their pupils, watched the final rays of the sun disappear over the horizon, his fluctuating and tired-sounding voice directed at the large soul resting in the palm of his skeletal-like hand. Even in the impending darkness, his deathly pale skin almost seemed to shimmer. "Remember it." His voice sounding as if it had given a death sentence, Beltza barely battered an eye as black swarms crept out from his bony finger-tips, engulfing the soul in heavy smog.

"Jeez, son, did you have to be so drama?" Reverted into his own human form, Zuri grinned as he gave a thumbs-up towards his son, praising him for a job well done. Beltza ignored him. "WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME?! COME ON AT LEAST GIVE YOUR OLD MAN A SMILE!" Zuri wept, but it really did little good, as Beltza simply gave him an acknowledging glance.

"YES!" Zuri pumped his fist into the air as he unleashed from his indefatigable eyes cheerful tears.

Actually, wait a second. Zuri, what are you so happy about?

"I HAVE MADE PROGRESS! BELTZA GLANCED AT ME!"

Umm...alright. I guess so...? Okay, never mind, back to being a narrator.

Scanning the warehouse complex for any other signs of potential enemies, Zuri grinned when it seemed like no one else was out here to kill them. They did a clean job; it was rare for them to achieve such a standard. However...

"Don't you think you overdid it a bit, Beltza? Dramatically killing those birds?" Zuri asked as he begun to walk into the center of the dead flock, gazing over each corpse with lamenting eyes. Such wastage of life frequently inspired distress within him. The fact that it was his protégé who did it did not make it any better.

Beltza simply gave a dismissing sigh, his head shaking in disagreement. "I was just trying to test out their defenses. The birds were just simply within my range. Besides, you know my limits Zuri. I cannot reliably control what my viruses attack."

"You really should stop thinking that, Beltza. You can control it; you are just telling yourself you can't...," Zuri said, his legs bending down to let him look over one of the birds that were mainly in the center. Extending out two fingers, Zuri brushed them over the chest of the dead avian. And the bird came back to life.

It's not just the crow in his hands. All the others in the flock snapped back up, suddenly revived. For a few seconds, all of them seemed unsure what to do, twitching their heads left and right, trying to figure out their bearings once more. It was only when Zuri stood back up and released the one in his hands into the air, did the crows begun to flap their wings. Following the lead of the one Zuri had released, the crows reformed back into a typical flock formation as they took to the skies, soaring away, while Zuri watched their flight until they were out of sight.

"Well, since you are done showing off, shall we get into the warehouse?" Beltza folded his arms as he begun to head to the warehouse, looking as if he was pissed that Zuri had helped him fix a mistake of his. Zuri could only smile at Beltza's show of social distance, as he followed after his son.

Because he knew that in Beltza's closed-off heart...

He was truly glad.

**LONGEST EVER CHAPTER YET! OVER 10,000 WORDS. Damn it, got to lay off the sleepless nights. (TT_TT)**

**For you guys unfamiliar with my works, Beltza is an OC I had created for someone else and Zuri is also, obviously, an OC and his adoptive father. Now, I won't rely on an OC application to reveal his story, so yes, there will be more character arcs for this Virus user, as well as his romantic interest Angela. Also, if you are wondering what is Zuri's own power, well...you have to wait. As for the shady Pale, he is also going to be involved as well.**

**Next chapter will be Xeal and friends, dealing with the Pall-Bearer and his blood-thirsty friend, in the literal sense.**

**Any questions you guys have can be given to me via PM or review. Either way can work.**


	105. Chaotic Order 5: Recon

**Hello guys, sorry for the late update. If you guys have been reading the Soul Eater manga, you know that it has ended! Rather sad that it did, but now that it has come to that, I guess I now have free reign in the Soul Eater universe. So enjoy, as I continue on this fanfic.**

**Starting off of course at a certain destroyed house,**

Right hand supporting his injured left arm, Xeal Dragomir wondered in the back of his aching head: how long should they search for their quarry around this rubble, in case a certain yellow-haired DJ was right now coming straight at them with a body of purple sound, in vengeance for their unfortunate, totally unintended 'renovation' of her residence. It's not that he was afraid of her, dear no. Xeal felt perfectly confident of taking on Cyril in close-combat. Well, at least if she did not take off her headphones.

Other than that, he was screwed.

Truth to be told, Xeal had only sparred with Cyril a total of five times: one time she managed to send him hurtling down the steps of Death City, another time was when in immediate defiance, he ran back up the stairs after his first defeat, only to be ensured that he could get a free nose-to-nose view of every single step down the entire freaking way. The third time was a hand-to-hand fight in the middle of the air. Guess who could fly in the first place. The fourth time was a close fight, when Xeal managed to corner Cyril against a wall with a few furious strikes. Until he finally realized how stupid he must have been to forget that sound can simply travel through such a wall and at a faster speed to boot. The fifth time...

Ah yes, the first match they ever had, under Fig's guidance. Xeal could recall his now missing senior, especially back in the times when he was still a One-Star-

"Damn it! Focus!" Xeal quickly chided himself out of his train of thoughts, just in time to ensure that he was not running off track from his true goal. He should not have allowed himself to think about Cyril in the first place. It was an irresponsible act, distracting him from what he should really be doing and making his progress as slow as ever. If he did not quickly get together his mind back onto the task at hand, he could be here for all afternoon, possibly even extending past into the night. Which would make all the more likely that they would get caught red-handed by Cyril once she got out-

DAMN IT! FOCUS!

And so while we leave the Demon Rune-Sword Xeal fighting off his ever annoying memories at his side of the debris, we shall now find that the silver-haired young man was not the only one who had his mind being distracted by stray thoughts. You see, while Xeal was perfectly alright with flipping the entire place upside down in search for his prey, his fellow classmate Akira Toya was more accustomed with getting a fight done and over with, sign in the quest as done without even properly filling in the relevant documents and then go off for a little booze and song, uncaring of the consequences that would descend upon him later. Isn't there a word to describe such a person?

Oh yes, lazy.

Now as we watch Akira exhaustedly kick a crushed scrap of a can off a piece of pebble, we should remind ourselves that Akira had just fought against a pretty powerful opponent and had to give up a large portion of his energy to execute the trio's Soul Chain Resonance combination-attack, not to mention that, as a Demon Motorcycle, Akira had to actually burn 'fuel' in order to keep himself running. Of course, realistically, there is no actual vehicle fuel inside his human body, so his vehicular metabolism had to go for an alternative: his own _cells_.

What we have here in Akira is the perfect synergized fusion between human and technology, a dream of transhumanists everywhere, or at least as perfect as you could get with 21st century technology, along with a little witchcraft. Apparently, when he was made, his creators melded a fuel-based combustion engine system into his system's design. It worked, well, at least when Akira was just a normal motorcycle. Whenever he takes his human-motorcycle hybrid form, materializing his system's fuel canister was next to impossible, if not impractical given how unwieldy and heavy it could be. You don't even need to get started on the massive fire hazard it would pose to him. Thus Akira made use of a little-known survival metabolic reflex to compensate, known as autophagy, burning his cells away for their energy. If only his creators had gotten the memo of solar power becoming the new energy fad.

And who his creators were, you asked?

Well, that's a story for another chapter.

All you need to know is that right now, as he kicked down another can into a pile of rubble, Akira's legs were shaved off a few tiny cells, for 300,000 cells truly is a mere pittance in the human body. Now you need not worry about his health; he is perfectly alright.

Once again, he was a teenager 'perfectly' (if you can stretch that word) fused with a machine and thus his mechanical side also learned from its host's mind the dangers that the usage of its host's cells would pose to its host, hence it was careful when it burned his cells, taking only those that were at the edge of their cellular life and were of little biological use to them. Akira was perfectly alright, both physically and mentally.

The only problem that came about was the awfully painful feeling that was now riddled about in Akira's legs. Can you imagine standing on your two legs? I'm sure you can. Now imagine standing on your two legs riddled with bullet holes. Not so easy, right? Now next, your two legs riddled with 1000 bullet holes but with the skin still intact. You would most likely freak out to unconsciousness before you could even try to stand.

Pain should not be an issue; you would be in shock, your nerves numbed to the pain. However, what's truly making it impossible would be that you would be like being a tree with a hollowed out trunk. If a tree had a mind (and some people believe that they do), it would be too frightened to move, no, to even continue to just stand there on your little spot of a tree. Your empty hollow support would feel useless, dangerous and just outright frightful, instilling in you the horror that if you even pressed down on your support by even a gram more, your entire structure might just collapse on top of it.

That would probably be an accurate analogical comparison to the sensation Akira was getting as he sluggishly walked over what could have been a fallen support beam and shoved away with an arm a layer of light pebbles and dust, really just trying to look like he was hard at work, when all he was doing was barely what you could call work. Indeed, for a young man like Akira, in his life, he had used his hybrid form a good deal and thus he was used to the feeling, hence fear was really non-existent within him.

Yet, while acclimatization could get rid of fear, just as much as hearing the same arrow-in-the-knee meme repeatedly could horribly get rid of its humor, there are just some feelings that it could not get rid. Therefore, while he shaved off yet another thin, laziness-disguising layer of rock, his mind told him that he should just go back, just get to his room and lie down. At least until his legs have recovered, he should not be walking at all. He should not be even here chasing down one of Xeal's obsessive red herrings. There had to a point when he had to make his stand. Just get it over and down with and get home. That was what he was focused on, just like how Xeal was focused on getting his hands on his target.

And thus he did. Of course, with Akira, direct confrontational statements were not his favorite thing and they were definitely not what he wanted to use against Xeal. So Akira decided to go for a more humorous jovial approach, while at the same time trying to capitalize on the one fear that he was 100% Akira-Toya-guaranteed sure was running through everyone's minds right now. "You know, Xeal...," He started soft, barely able to get the attention of the determined Dragomir, who just silently lifted two more chunks of walls up with one hand to look under them. Seeing that he was getting nowhere with literally 'small' talk, Akira gave a small gulp down his throat. Whether it was of hesitation, fear, or just dumb bravery, he could not tell. You decide.

"Don't you think that if we get our butts kicked off to the moon by You Know Who, we might not even live to find Mr. Coffin's body among this rubble?" Yes, yes, that was good. Try to start with manipulating a little fear via the destruction of Cyril's house (which the girl would avenge with a ferocious noisy vengeance) and then try to downplay the threat of Thanatos by implying that he was already smashed to bits and hence no longer a threat to Death City. Two-pronged approach.

Urgh, 'manipulating' though, that was a bad word to use. Akira felt he could have worded it better. Maybe controlling(no, it made him sound like a tyrant), coaxing(not exactly fitting either), begging(certainly not) or-

"I doubt that she would really destroy us if we just explain it to her...um...(I-hope-so)...Besides, I'm confident that with her powers, it would make it so much easier to find Thanatos. Oh, and I doubt he's dead yet, Akira. I've fought him before, nearly bisected him in two and the guy could still walk away as if it was nothing. We better keep searching." Xeal's answer was quick. Maybe he did have a moment of hesitation when he mentioned trying to calm Cyril down out of her inevitable rage, but overall his response was, from Akira's ears, confident and firm. Back to square one.

Damn, both prongs taken out. Maybe Akira needed to try to focus his persuasion on one point and drive his way home(both literally and metaphorically). Xeal's mentioned hesitation had made Akira eager to try and to pull the "Cyril will turn us into sound-waves" card against him, but after a few moments of hindsight, he realized how easily his argument could be turned against him. He could see Xeal's fear of Cyril's house-avenging rampage; it was as clear as the Moon in the night sky. Which means that Akira's own fear of the girl would be as clear as the Sun in the night sky. Yeah, if he could see Xeal's fear, Xeal could definitely see his. Which, if Xeal was quick enough (he frequently was), then he could just say that their fear of her should be used instead to motivate them to speed up their search for Thanatos, thus not only forcing Akira to remain still stuck in a search he had long dismissed as fruitless, but to work even harder, much to the strain of his cell-missing legs.

Hence, he tried to instead convince (yes, that's the right word) Xeal that Thanatos was truly obliterated. "Mate, I think we really took him out this time. No one had survived that Chain Resonance attack when we used it the last times. I'm sure, that, no matter how much hocus-bogus he has up in that coffin of his, he won't be the first." Akira was aware in the back of his mind that the road of persuasion he had picked was a bad one and that if he was in a role-playing game, he would have failed the persuasion test.

Xeal was merciless to show it, his tone taking as much sarcasm as its fine, stoic voice could take. "With the 'last times' being against three low-level Kishin Eggs, one witch and a pigeon. That is not exactly the best track record for a technique. Oh, would it be a good time to mention that the pigeon survived?"

"That was because I tripped on my wheels!" Akira retorted in a half-mock half-real expression of exasperation. His patience was beginning to run dry; his legs were killing him, his body felt weak from battle exertion and his mind was growing tired of trying to find ways around Xeal's replies.

Soon Akira felt that he would be reaching that point where he would have to choose whether to just give up or to directly argue against Xeal. Both ways lead to potential disaster and hence Akira felt urgency swell up within, pushing him to press harder against this immovable wall known as Xeal.

It was when Akira opened his mouth to take his choice, that Xeal turned to what was obviously a major piece of a broken pillar, the large concrete block coincidentally jammed smack center in a pile of tightly convoluted debris, with the portion that was too large sticking out like a tomb-stone. The narrowing of his eyes prompted Akira to stop himself, as he realized that the hunter had finally found its prey. Even Fritz, who was a few meters away from the two, froze as he realized the change in the atmosphere.

All was silent, except for a grunt and a bang, as Xeal lifted the massive piece, revealing under it an unscratched man, who smiled as if he was falling in love at first sight.

"Kept me waiting, huh? Thought I was gonna get bored." Thanatos spoke without a hint of excitement in his voice, though it was very easy for Xeal to imagine him smirking ear-to-ear when he said those mocking words. It pissed him off really bad. The fact that he too, like Akira, was getting tired from constantly exerting himself did not help him retain his calm. On the contrary, he just wanted to jump straight down into the crater and step on Thanatos' ugly face. Instead, he aimed for his chest.

"Ma-taku, you seem angry..." Thanatos stated the obvious, his voice unhindered by the large boot now pressuring on his front. His little slip of Japanese was a result of him actually speaking his real language, but after a short while in his presence, everyone else could perfectly understand him. Back then, Thanatos explained it was because they were speaking to each other through the language of Death, though Xeal did not buy that kind of 'universal language' bullshit. A sentiment that Xeal emphasized as he paid back with even more force into his foot, though much to his inner surprise, the more strength he placed, the more his sole was pushed back by Thanatos' torso.

"Shut up. I've got you now!" Xeal growled as he leaned forward, his face, in all of its glorious rage, overshadowing Thanatos' perpetually implacable one, "Tell me why you need that boy's headband!" Thanatos still had it within his hand: that yellow headband that belonged to Soul Eater Evans, one of Xeal's classmates and understandably a mere acquaintance. Had he known Evans better, Xeal Dragomir might have been able to pinpoint a reason without resorting to interrogation, but in reality, Xeal simply could never understand how someone as (in his eyes) weak as Evans have any sort of connection to the monster he now stood over. Not that it mattered, for even if he cannot find it out by deduction, he can still get it out of the mouth of his captive.

If Thanatos was his captive in the first place.

Somehow, even with Xeal's hand at his throat, Thanatos' blank expression sorely disputed that point. In the back of Xeal's mind, seeing into the depths of those horrid, alien eyes had revealed nothing more than a consuming darkness and thus prompted him to wonder: who is the prisoner here?

Surely it must be Thanatos; Xeal attempted to assure himself of that with a pessimist's confidence.

"Are you afraid?" It came out of the blue, a statement from Thanatos that struck Xeal in the heart, shattering that little assurance, his grip on Thanatos' neck softening a little. Not that it mattered much, because from his perspective, his puny hand seemed like it was trying to choke a blue whale, with expected results. He hated it so much; the seemingly certain possibility that Thanatos could read his mind, from simple things such as his movements, to the most guarded of secrets such as his emotions. Or his origin. Xeal hated that as well: Thanatos baiting him with knowledge of his true heritage.

That was why Thanatos has got to die. Xeal could no longer bear to care for why Thanatos needed the headband. "I've had enough..." His eyes hidden under the shade of his platinum-silver hair, Xeal's teeth bared their fangs as his right hand wrapped around his left wrist. With a roar, a pull and a flourish, what was once Xeal's left arm sung through the air as the rectangular half of a broadsword easily two-thirds of his height.

Akira and Fritz hurriedly tried to shout for him to stop.

"Xeal, WAITTTTT!" Deliberately ignorant Xeal was of his friends and their shouts, their attempts to run up and grab him sluggish in his adrenaline-revved view. One, two, three times he swung his sword over his head, each round a build-up of his anger, his indignation and his impatience. He could end it now, with just one round and one swing, but the three rounds he did was also an expression of his internal hesitation.

His understanding, upon sight of the chipped blade held in Thanatos' left hand hanging motionless at his side, that he was so painfully exposed. All it would take for Thanatos to stop him was to raise his arm, and Xeal would lose his.

All the more reason not to stop NOW!

Had Xeal been less consumed by both his wrath and his panic, he might have noticed the corner of his eyes twitching at a glaring glint reflected off the single telescopic eye of a kneeling silhouette whose metallic exterior blended well with the Himalayas snow while it watched from a roof two blocks away, behind a massive sniper rifle.

* * *

><p>Tactical All Purpose Soldier #50613, nicknamed Ryu, felt his single Cyclops optical receptor, also known to the common human as an eye, adjust as he shifted to maintain his electronic interface with his Fussiler, slipping his left knee a little more under the named two-meter-long anti-material rifle, releasing his need to use the roof side as a crutch to support its weight.<p>

How long has he been watching those four? He queried in his mind, noting that his mission still remained unaccomplished and his logic modules blared at him to get it done and over with, in order to minimize risk of discovery. His trigger finger, little more than artificial muscle fibers encased in a cubby unfashionable exoskeleton (his sucky designers had watched too much _Gundam_), danced over the little lever, playing with the notion. However, the scout robot had just been so fascinated by the battle. Indeed, just thinking about it makes the fibers of his face, reminiscent to an angular and slim human face, minus the mouth, twitch in a moment of LOL behind his gray full helmet.

Seeing the three kid noobs fight like that in coordination and that one-handed determinator to get so up-close and personal, even after their epic fail against that monster's shockwave, Ryu had little to complain about their performance against such an overwhelming opponent, other than his logic modules' comments about how the monster seemed to be lollygagging throughout the fight. Even then, IHO, the noobs have done good, attempting to pwn that monster with that collaboration technique. In fact, they are almost as good at teamwork as Ryu's own trio.

At the sudden reminder about his 'trio', Ryu's logic modules gave him a small zap in the head, pestering to at least get the next part of his job done. Ryu could only metaphorically sigh, his face trying its best to replicate the emoticon (Q-Q). He did not like his job, or at least this portion of it.

Observing, watching from a distance, held a kingly place in his central processor. It was a perfect way to satisfy that scratching sensation in his head. Not from his logic modules, they always loved to boast of their dominating ownage in his systems via their little electric zaps. No, this sensation could be felt at all of his processors, a near universal itch that intensified when he was looking at the monotonous, such as those jarring walls of his containment cell, keeping him in, silent and on his own. It was probably the reason why he utterly destroyed the cell the second they managed to get out of there, as it was at that time the only conceivable way he could deal with the itch.

Yet, now here he is, feeling it again.

Had this been a different set of circumstances, Ryu might have felt obliged to go up there on the scene in probably the most epic badass fashion (though how to do so still eludes him) and introduce himself, though the likelihood of him being immediately run through by the silver-haired boy was calculated to be 98.204%, give or take a 1.796% of random error. Should he survive, Ryu might have indulged himself in some fine chit-chat with those present there. Perhaps he might even come up with a grandiose speech about how he wishes that the trio could do more to cherish the bonds between them, yapping away like some mad old prophet finding his next batch of do-gooders to send out to save the world, even though Ryu is no more than three year old.

Alas, a job is a job and even then, it was less of whether he wanted to talk to them and more of whether he _could_ talk to them.

Ryu felt his vocal synthesizers crank out a dull vibration, reminding him through its solemn drone that he did not have the luxury. Pressing his right index finger against the side of his helmet, Ryu gave a metaphorical sigh as he activated the communication module located in there. On his HUD, his tactical indicators, varying from bullet count, projected trajectory, estimated wind speeds and direction to his energy levels, were minimized to the side as Skype came on.

**Kronos the Malevolent  
>Calling.<strong>

Don't ask why super-advanced Gundam-like robots use Skype. Though it probably has something to do with that their leader had already paid for the Unlimited World package to avoid incurring the charges for long-distance phone calls. The fact that it is unlikely that any telecommunications company would give a SIM card to a bunch of humanoid mecha in the first place should also be considered. Plus their creators' folly in forgetting to put up a personal satellite for them so that they could have used their native communication protocols in the first place. Oh and hacking. None of them knew how to hack and attempts based on Hollywood movies never worked.

_Ryu: Hey boss, spying three extras around the priority. Shall I pwn them as well? FYI, Himalayas are cold._

Another possible reason is that due to his muteness, phone calls were useless for Ryu. The only possible way he could communicate would be through text input.

_Kronos: "Negative. Take out the priority swiftly and immediately."_

At the same time, while Kronos can do text input, a Skype call is needed because he just loves his flat-line voice.

_Kronos: "Also, deal with it. And stop talking in that internet speak."_

Typical no-nonsense bastard. Ryu tried to snort but failed. The trademark winding down sound of Skype being turned off rang over his auditory sensors as he laid his eye on the barrel of Fussiler, its lens spinning as they telescopically marked out his target.

Sniping was not as fun as observing. Perhaps because when he shoots, the ones he observe turn stone-cold while others immediately scatter. There would be nothing left to admire, only a boring scene of corpses, deprived of the energy he terribly desired to see. Leaving him by himself.

This may be why he felt his finger dance a little over the trigger, as he aimed.

* * *

><p>And in that moment, a red blur came out from among the buildings bordering the scene of the fight. The glint of black metal and the ring akin to bells marked when a demonically armored man with shoulder-lengthed hair, seemingly lacquered with bronze, clashed his wicked black katana against Xeal's blade, a mere feet over Thanatos' unflinching face.<p>

Xeal gawked and then gasped as he jumped back from a fierce right kick at his stomach, joining back to the sides of Fritz and Akira. His surprise was quickly swallowed up by rage as the man, whose face wore a mask of similar emotion, gave them an almost inhuman snarl, like that of a snake. His canines, Akira noticed, were unusually long and sharp when bared. Why this was so, he did not dwell on, focusing instead on finding an opening.

Fritz raised his arm as if ready to fire out his cannon shot but he hesitated almost immediately when the intruder brought his sword in front of him in a backhand grip. With an unusually cursive edge and a hilt decorated with satanic design, the katana gave a strong message to Fritz that it would swiftly cut his hand right off should he try.

No one made a move for the longest while. Stares were exchanged, long and hard, and a tense silence existed between the opponents, over the background noise of the city's operations to cope with recent events. Only the snow from the mountain sky dared to enter the brief no-man's land between the trio and the intruder.

"You are slow, Kenji."

Everyone save the named Kenji blinked blankly at Thanatos picking himself up, his body cracking as if bones were being rearranged. Much to their even greater shock, Kenji immediately sank to his knees with his sword in front of him, giving Thanatos a deep bow, his forehead kissing the ground.

"My apologies, sir. Do you have what you wanted?"

"Indeed. Just in time, too." Thanatos' eyes gave a knowing glance to the now alert Xeal, who strained to figure out what Kenji meant. At the same time, Xeal wondered if he just saw Thanatos slipping something into the darkness around his legs.

"Let's go, Kenji." Thanatos murmured, the hostile lowness of his voice marking his words as an order, sending unwanted chills down Xeal's spine. These same chills came back stronger than ever when Thanatos suddenly threw the headband, the thing sparking this entire conflict, right into Xeal's hands. "Wha-"

"Wait a sec!" Akira called out, as he started to run to grab Thanatos, with Fritz just behind.

"Understood, sir." Kenji bowed once more as his right hand flexed itself, opening up to reveal a blindingly bright red ball of energy, sending Xeal's chills skyrocketing off the charts.

'That guy...' Xeal thought, 'he can use magic! Just like me!' He began to run, knowing now he cannot let those two get away. "STOP!"

Thanatos, now right beside the still kneeling Kenji, turned around to face the futilely chasing trio, but his alien eyes were strangely directed somewhere else, someplace far off. Perhaps to one of the building roofs? No one got the chance to notice what he was looking at though, for Kenji flung the sphere into the air, causing everyone's vision to fill with red when the sphere erupted, engulfing Kenji and Thanatos, who spoke the last haunting words to Xeal. "Till we cross paths again, child..."

With that, the sphere faded away, joining the petals of snow, its caster and his master gone. Xeal, Akira and Fritz stood stiffly where they were, alone in the rubble once more, no less clueless about what's going on. And Xeal hated that, as his fist, clenched onto Soul's headband, smashed against the ground.

"DAMNNN ITTT!"

Nearby, retreating back to the Academy, Maka and company, with the still unconscious Soul lifted by Maka and Black Star, briefly halted at Xeal's thunderous roar. "Guy is pissed." Black Star slightly shivered, a rare but justified move, given how he was easily slam-dunked by Xeal the last time they met.

"I'll call them to come with us," Marie said as she turned towards the sound. "Joe wanted to see them too."

* * *

><p>"Oh man, that was too close." Ryu felt his lightly armored chest finally let go in his robotic attempt of a held breath. Somehow, out of nowhere, that man of death had spotted him from across the city, right down to looking at him straight into the eye. His stealth had been pathetic, so easily ripped apart. And for Ryu, this was the first time this had happened.<p>

How could that man have seen him so quickly? He was a robot; he had no soul to speak of for Soul Preceptors to exploit and his inner systems could regulate his temperature to perfectly match his surroundings, so heat was nullified. Perhaps the man had sharp eyes and had looked over his general location and noticed a glint off his Cyclops eye. In other words, he got lucky. Yes, that would be the only suitable, the only acceptable explanation.

Whatever the cause, Ryu is not safe here anymore. The man might be coming for him right now. Better to retreat. His inner workings clicking and whizzing disgruntledly, Ryu pulled back his rifle as it retracted its long barrel, fitting snugly on his magnetic back. Light padded steps were the last thing that the residents of the house heard before Ryu merged back into the cold darkness, to return back to his favourite pastime. Observing.


End file.
